All That We're Living For
by TheRisingAlleria
Summary: Senior year has arrived while Scott and the rest of the Pack are faced with a new enemy threatening to break them apart. With Lydia's Banshee powers spiraling out of control, Liam's nightmares becoming an recurring habit, and helping out a dead girl who's not so dead; the pack will struggle to understand what exactly there is to live or die for. [Liam's P.o.V.] Liam/Hayden COMPLETE
1. We All Live (And) We All Die

_**Hi, everyone! This is my first Teen Wolf fanfic that I've officially published on here! I've seen a lot of fanfiction with Scott and Stiles and even Derek and Isaac as the main character, so I wanted to try Liam. He's a new beta and I figured why not? Hope you all enjoy!**_

_**EDIT: As for the premiere of Creatures of the Night, I've decided that the official pairings are: Liam/Hayden, Liam/OC (One-sided), Scott/Kira, Scott/Allison (Flashbacks), Stiles/Lydia, Stiles/Malia (Past relationship), Isaac/Cora, Derek/Braeden, Melissa/Sheriff, and Lydia/Parrish (past relationship). **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf. All rights go to MTV and writer Jeff Davis. Also any pop culture references belong to their respective owners.**_

* * *

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter I**

_**We All Live (And) We All Die**_

**_oOo_**

_**"It's not what it seems,**_

_**Not what you think,**_

_**No, I must be dreaming,**_

_**It's only in my mind,**_

_**Not in real life,**_

_**No, I must be dreaming . . ."**_

_**"Bleed" - Evanescence**_

**_oOo_**

* * *

_**It was the same girl.**_

_Lying on the grass, in her white dress, as she stared up at the full moon._

_The same dream, happening for quite a few days now and Liam wanted it to stop._

_He watched the girl sit up as she heard a sound, but then dismissed it as she laid back down._

_Then he was the force that yanked her down with his bare teeth as he dragged her in the woods, teeth sinking farther into her ankle as she screamed with terror_

_. . ._

_for her life._

**_oOo_**

Liam woke up, sweat dripping down his face, blue eyes opening. Fumbling for his phone, he searched for it underneath his pillow and grabbed it when his fingers connected with it. He found a familiar number and dialed it. "Scott? It's Liam. I had it again."

"Liam. It's just a dream. Lydia says there has been no more deaths since . . ."

"Yeah, I know. But . . . what if I did something that I didn't know about, when I turned?"

"Liam, are your eyes blue?" Scott asked.

Liam thought for a moment and went to his bathroom mirror as he watched his eyes turn gold. "Blue means you killed an innocent," he whispered to himself, then told Scott, "No, they're still gold."

"Good. Like remember when we were practicing the other day? Remember what your anchor is."

"Right," Liam exhaled. _The sun, the moon, and the truth._

"Go back to bed, Liam. We can talk about this in the morning."

Liam set his phone down on the bathroom counter, staring at his reflection in the mirror, at his golden eyes. Fading back to his normal blue color, he forced himself to go back into his bed.

Liam didn't sleep the rest of the night.

**_oOo_**

"Dude, did you sleep at all?" Mason, his best - and openly gay - friend asked Liam when he got off the bus.

"Nope," Liam admitted. He still wasn't pleased by the fact that his friend still had the hots for his rival, Brett.

"What's happening to you, Liam? One day, you have a broken ankle and the next you don't. Then you're back and forth between me and those two senior guys you hang out with. Are you guys in a gang or something?"

"Something like that," Liam told him.

Mason still didn't know about werewolves living in Beacon Hills and if he did, he was doing a pretty good job of hiding it, after the whole Beserker incident when Mason and Lydia had both been trapped in the school. Whether that was the case or not, Liam hated still having to make excuses about the days he was struggling with controlling his wolf side or hence any other supernatural/werewolf incident. Liam had waited for Scott to show up but he never did. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Stiles or Lydia around either. Just then, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and knows he'd received a text.

**FROM: Scott McCall**

_**Come 2 hospital. Urgent.**_

"Uh, I gotta go," Liam blurted. "I'll see you later, man. Uh, you know, gang stuff."

"Be careful, Liam. I don't know what you're in, but just come back alive. You're the only one I have left after . . ." Liam knew Mason was thinking about Garrett and Violet, two friends of his who turned out to be assassins.

"I'll be okay," Liam promised. When Mason left for class, Liam turned, running all the way to the hospital, thoughts drifting in and out of his head.

Did one of the Pack get hurt?

Did Scott find something?

Was it Stiles having another panic attack?

Lydia foreshadowing another death?

Whatever it was, Liam had arrived at the hospital and followed Scott's scent, leading him to the morgue.

He froze. If he was at the morgue . . . Liam knew what that meant: dead people. And if Scott and the others were in the morgue, that must mean another werewolf related problem - or at least Liam's hoping it wasn't _his _problem.

_It's just a stupid dream_, he reminded himself as he pushed the door open.

Everyone was there - well, except for Derek, Braeden, Chris and Peter. There was Scott McCall, a boy with dark brown hair and eyes, also known as a True Alpha and the one who bit Liam in order to save him from Sean, a Wendigo; "Stiles" Stilinski, a human who apparently had been possessed by an evil spirit - a Nogitsune - and had been Malia's ex-boyfriend up until the day _he _came (but that was another story); Lydia Martin, a girl who had strawberry-blonde hair and didn't look like much except for the fact that she was a Banshee, a harbinger of death and was still learning about her powers; Kira Yukimura, a pretty Asian girl with short black hair, who was a Kitsune (in other words: a fox) and was capable of using her katana whenever the situation called for it (well, at least _most _of the time) and was currently dating Scott McCall; Alan Deaton, who was the town's veterinarian (and former Druid/Emissary, as his younger sister, Marin Morrell); and Melissa McCall and Sheriff Stilinski (Scott's mother and Stiles' father), who were in no way anything supernatural but were human like Stiles, only having just recently learned of knowledge of the supernatural residing in Beacon Hills.

They were all standing around a stretcher, a white sheet framing the body underneath it. From the outline, Liam could guess it's a female.

"What's up?" Liam asked as he set his backpack down on the floor.

"Now that's everyone," Melissa began. "This body was transferred from Beacon County Hospital this morning. She's a Jane Doe. But anyway when I went to put her body away into the freezer, I noticed this." Melissa reached underneath the white sheet, revealing a small, pale, but most _definitely _female hand. But the thing that stood out the most were the dark claws that were forming from the fingernails.

"She's turning," Scott noticed as Melissa returned the deceased's hand back to its original place.

"Yes, but -"

"So, we'll wait until she wakes up and we'll help and teach her like we did with Liam," Scott continued.

"Yes, and I understand that but there's a slight problem that you don't understand, honey."

"What is it, Mom?"

Melissa hesitated. "This girl's been in a coma for over 73 years. She died this morning."

Disbelief spread through the room. "Has this ever happened before?" Scott asked Deaton.

"Not that I know of. But to be kept frozen for 73 years may have delayed the changing process. Melissa, were there any visible bite marks on our Jane Doe?"

Melissa shook her head. "Nothing. Not even a scratch. Her file says nothing. It says something about that she's presumed to have been attacked by an animal."

"Can I see?" Lydia asked and Melissa handed her the file. "Well, we'll have to assume if she's turning, she may have been bitten."

"Or was born a werewolf. Like Sourwolf," Stiles offered.

"Maybe all she needs a wake-up call. Scott, would you do the honors?" Deaton asked.

"Here?" Scott asked nervously. "But it's a hospital. Wouldn't everyone hear me?"

"Well, I don't think anybody here in this hospital really gives a crap after the Oni slaughtered people down one by one. And that was half of my doing."

"He's right," Kira stepped in. "We need someplace more . . . quieter."

"The woods," Liam cut in as all eyes turned to him, but he wasn't looking at them. He couldn't explain why the woods was the best place for this Jane Doe's wake up call but now he was staring down at the white sheet, slowly uncovering the face as he spoke and then just stared. "It's her," Liam mumbled. "The girl from my dream." His eyes wandered over the girl's pale face, her caramel-chocolate skin littered with tiny pieces of ice crystals, her dark thick eyebrows, her medium-sized lips, her long black curls framing her bare shoulders. Liam remembered from the dream that the girl's eyes were a light green.

_Maybe that's why I had that dream. So we could find out who killed her . . . the person who turned her, _Liam thought to himself.

"Will she ever wake up?" Liam asked the question out loud.

"It's hard to say," Deaton answered. "If she hasn't woken up the first time, it's quite possible she'll stay like this forever. Sometimes a bite or a change doesn't go the way you want it to."

"Like Paige," Stiles murmured softly.

"Or sometimes it does," Deaton finished.

"Like Kate," Lydia supplied.

"But either way, we'll just have to wait and see." The group exited the morgue while Liam watched Melissa put Jane Doe back inside the dark freezer, shutting the drawer door with a silent, but resounding (to Liam, anyways) boom.

"Come on, Liam." Melissa patted his shoulder in a motherly way. Together, the two walked out of the morgue and bumped into Lydia.

"Where you going?" he asked her.

"I forgot something," the strawberry-blonde girl replied.

Liam met up with the others outside in the parking lot while Melissa returned to her work.

"Where's Lydia?" Stiles asked.

"She went back to the morgue. She said that she forgot something."

Stiles frowned. "Lydia didn't bring anything with her but herself. _Oh _. . ." Scott and Stiles exchanged an knowing look. "We've got to get to Lydia _now_."

The Pack went back to the direction they had just came from. When they arrived at their destination, they found Lydia standing in front of Jane Doe's body, which laid on the cold metal slab, the frigid air drifting out from the now open door.

"Lydia?" Stiles asked, stepping closer to her. The strawberry-blonde girl only stared forward, tears pooling in her green eyes. Finally, in a soft shaky voice, she replied, "She keeps screaming. She won't stop. Make her stop."

Liam listened, hearing nothing else but the sound of their own breathing. He shared confused looks between the others: Scott, Kira, and Stiles. Without warning, Lydia threw her head back and let out her trademark Banshee scream. Liam covered his ears and waited until her wail faded away. He opened his eyes just in time to see Lydia collapsing back into Stiles' arms.

"What the _hell _was that?" Stiles grunted as Lydia stirred in his arms. He scooped her up into an carrying position, Lydia's head lolling back against his chest.

Liam and Scott shook their heads in answer. Banshees had no reason to scream unless there was a certain death about to unfold, Liam remembered. Banshees could only predict death. But they had been wrong before. Like the time when the Pack had rushed to save Scott and Kira in _La Iglesia _(meaning in Spanish: the Church) in Mexico, Derek had been the one that Lydia had screamed at but he did not die; instead, Derek had transformed into a wolf, which only a few rare could do.

"Scott. Stiles. Kira. Liam. You should all be in school right now. I'll write notes for all of your teachers," Melissa said.

"Thanks, Mom."

"What are you going to say? That we were helping you out with a dead girl who's not so dead and that she'll wake up any second?" Stiles asked with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Something along the lines of that," Melissa replied, smiling. "I'll figure something out."

Scott followed his mom upstairs while the others headed back outside for their cars. Stiles carefully placed Lydia into his Jeep, gently securing her seat-belt across her chest, then turned to Scott.

"I'll meet you guys soon. I just have to take Lydia home and wait until she wakes up. Maybe she'll know what happened."

"Can I catch a ride?" Liam asked. He was pretty sure Scott wanted to ride with Kira.

"Sure."

And with that, Stiles and Liam hopped into the Jeep, driving away.

"Why do you think she screamed?" Liam glanced at Lydia who still remained unconscious in the passenger seat as the Jeep edged closer and closer to Beacon Hills High School.

Stiles shrugged. "Beats me. Lydia's powers aren't really clear. Remember last time when we thought Derek would die? Maybe that's the same thing now. And now Derek's a freaking Pokemon."

The Jeep shuddered to a stop as Stiles threw the Jeep into park, turning around in his seat to face Liam. "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not, Liam. Trust me when I say that I've had experience with dreams. Now, stop lying to yourself because we both know you're not fine."

Liam sighed. He hesitated, considering on telling Stiles about the girl from his dreams, about the reason why she always wore a white dress. It had been bothering him for quite a while.

"I . . . The girl from my dream," he began slowly. "Right before I, you know, kill her, she's always wearing this white dress. Always white. Never any other color. Do you think it means something?"

Liam wasn't best-best friends with Stiles yet, like with Mason, but there was something between them that only the rest of the pack could understand. Because they've all been through something terrible.

Stiles looked thoughtful. "White usually means innocence or purity. Maybe your dream symbolizes your fear of killing an innocent." Stiles was silent for a minute, before he flapped his lips, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "Now, get going. You're gonna be late for History."

Liam opened the Jeep door, shouldering his backpack on one shoulder, then turned to face Stiles. "I never did thank you for helping me on the way to the Church - La Iglesia. So . . . uh, thank you."

Stiles nodded. "You're welcome, you little punk."

Watching as Stiles drove away, Liam headed into his Biology class. Heads whipped toward him when he entered through the door, like he just murdered someone, but Liam was used to it. People used to do that all the time back at Devenford Prep, after he'd destroyed his coach's car. Settling in his seat, he soon found himself feeling tired. He didn't mean to fall asleep, but he was just so, so tired from the nightmares. It was bad enough as it was, aside from the whole Berserker PTSD.

_" . . . You and your friends try to protect everyone. How have you been doing this the whole time? I mean, how are you all still alive?"_

_"Not all of us are."_

In his dream (vision or whatever), Liam was standing in a warehouse. There was water underneath his feet, soaking the bottom of his soles of his Converses. He looked up. A woman in her late-twenties with medium-length short dark brown hair and skin was in the middle of saying, "- or next time I'm killing all of you."

Harsh. But somewhere deep inside his mind, a voice supplied her name: Kali.

Liam tried to move, but it was like he was paralyzed. As if it wasn't his own body, Liam was forced to turn around.

"It's all okay, Derek." A teenage African-American boy was saying to the broken man in front of him. Realization hit Liam when he saw it was Derek that the boy was talking to.

"I'm - I'm sorry."

"The full moon. That feeling . . . that was worth it. There's a lunar eclipse. I always wondered what . . . what that felt like for one of us. For one of us . . ."

Suddenly, Liam was standing somewhere else. In front of him sat a teenage girl with curly blonde hair, wearing a black jacket, leaning her head back against the railing behind her. Liam wondered who she was and where they were. From what he could see, it looked like they were in an abandoned bank vault.

"Boyd, what do you think will happen to us on the lunar eclipse?" the girl asked. Boyd must've been the one Derek was holding. Perhaps this was one of his memories.

"They last for hours, you know," she continued, "Because it's just the Earth's shadow. I wonder what will happen to us. Maybe it'll make us stronger. I _hope _it will make us stronger." The girl rose to her feet, eyes glowing golden as she lunged toward Kali, the woman with the red eyes. And she fought. Erica Reyes fought hard and bravely. But in the end, it wasn't enough. The girl laid on the floor on her stomach, hand outstretched as if to touch somebody's - perhaps Boyd's - hand.

Erica grunted. "Boyd . . ." she whispered, while her hand softened, then her head met the cold, hard floor and she moved no more.

Liam felt a tugging sensation in his chest and suddenly, he was whipped forward, falling face down. He managed to catch himself, palms connecting with the gravel underneath him. Getting to his feet, Liam glanced to his right and saw Stiles. But it wasn't Stiles because Stiles had a look on his face that didn't suit him: pure evil. Liam figured that this must have been the time when Stiles had been possessed by the Nogitsune.

Looking in the direction that the Nogitsune was, Liam saw two figures in black, both holding katanas, slicing a teenage werewolf. When one of them is about to deliver the killing blow, a silver arrow appeared out of nowhere and impaled its target. The Oni dropped its medieval sword in surprise, exploding in a shower of yellow light and black dust. The ground around them rumbled like an earthquake was happening. Liam saw Nogitsune Stiles looking a little surprised - or a little scared. When the dark-haired werewolf's savior - a girl with black hair and fair skin - smiled in relief, she had no time to react to one of the Oni ramming his sword into her stomach. Apparently, Liam still had his werewolf hearing because he heard Lydia's voice screaming, "_ALLISON!" _The name carried on eerily as if she was in a tunnel.

Nogitsune Stiles smirked as he turned to leave; the figures in black vanished into black smoke as Kira ran to her mother as they both watched in shock when Scott came running out from behind a barred door to catch the fallen huntress.

Scott cradled the girl called Allison in his arms, brushing her hair out of her face as her lips become speckled with her blood. Scott touched her hand as if concentrating on something hard as if his life depended on it. Liam wasn't sure what he was doing, but he made a mental note to ask about it later.

"I can't take your pain," Scott said, his voice rising in a panic.

"That's because it doesn't hurt," Allison replied back softly. "It's okay."

"No, Allison . . ."

"It's okay. It's perfect. I'm in the arms of my first love. The first person I ever loved. The person I'll always love. I love - I love you. Scott - Scott McCall." Allison gently touched Scott's lips with her fingers while Liam heard Lydia sobbing in the background. "You have to tell my dad. You have to tell my dad - Tell him . . ." Allison's breath quickened as she tried to form her last words, but her heartbeat was slowing down and then there was nothing but silence.

"Does it hurt you as much as it hurts me?"

Liam whirled around. It was night; a chill whispered in the dark and Liam saw that he was standing outside of his school, right in front of a tunnel. Two boys that looked to be identical twins (and brothers) were sitting on the cement. One of the boys seemed to look like he was Death's doorstep what with the bloody wound he had in his stomach, while Chris Argent stood behind them.

"Yeah," his brother replied.

"It's okay," Twin #1 chuckled softly. "Lydia never believed I was one of the good guys anyway."

"She'll believe me," Derek answered, who was on his knees besides the twins.

Twin #1 strained to breathe while his brother tried to soothe him. As he took his last breath, Liam heard the sound of running footsteps. He turned to see Lydia running out from behind the double doors. Seeing what had happened, Lydia then turned, running straight into Stiles' arms.

Liam closed his eyes. Why was his vision showing him things that had already happened in the past? Was there a point that needed to be heard? When Liam opened his eyes again, he could smell dirt, blood, and tears.

A teenage boy cradled a girl in his arms in front of gigantic entwined and tangled cluster of roots of a tree. For a second, Liam thought it was Scott again, but then realized it was Derek, in his younger days. The girl must have been Paige, his first love, whom Stiles had told Liam about.

"Right after I told you my name," Paige was saying. "I think I knew. I've seen things in this town before, things no one could really explain. And there's the way you talk - How you say things, like how you'd catch a scent. And I know you can hear things, things no one else can hear. I knew."

Dang. Liam didn't know anyone that caught on that quick. Well, except for Stiles. He wondered what would happen if he told Mason about him? About the fact that there were werewolves in Beacon Hills. Would his best friend run or stay?

"And you still liked me?" Young Derek asked.

"I loved you," was Paige's reply. Then she let out a cry of pain and Derek kissed her forehead in comfort. He touched her hand, appearing to do the same thing Scott had done with Allison. Liam realized that Derek was taking Paige's pain, just like when Scott had tried to take away Allison's.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Paige asked as then Derek nodded his head in reply. "I can't take it anymore," she begged. "Please."

"I'm sorry," Derek cried as he pulled Paige into an embrace, hugging her so hard that he broke her neck. The sound of Paige's bones breaking resounded in Liam's ears and he winced. Derek whispered, "I'm sorry."

The last thing Liam heard before the sudden ring of the school bell woke him was Peter Hale's voice.

_"It didn't matter that she was young and strong. Some people just aren't made for this . . ."_

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**Reviews?**

**I know it's not the best chapter so far, but I promise it'll get better as it goes along. I'm making sure it won't be so confusing unlike my other story, The Knife and the Mockingjay.**

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**Question of the Day:**

_**They were teacher and student, and lived around 300 B.C. in Greece. One was possibly the greatest soldier of ancient times, the other was possibly the greatest thinker. Who were they?**_

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**\- A**


	2. Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine

_Flashbacks and/or dreams will be titled in Italics._

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter II**

_**"Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine"**_

**_oOo_**

**_"In the air she goes,_**

**_There she goes,_**

**_Up, up, a little bit higher,_**

**_Oh my, the moon is on fire,_**

**_Come Josephine, in my flying machine,_**

**_Going up,_**

**_All on,_**

**_Goodbye."_**

**_\- Alfred Bryan and Fred Fisher_**

**_oOo_**

* * *

"You know . . . if you keep staring at her like that, you're gonna break the Guinness World Book of Records," Stiles told Liam.

"Huh? Oh, right." Liam blinked, finally tearing his eyes away from the couch, turning to face Stiles, giving him his attention.

"You should be glad she isn't awake," Stiles continued as the two of them headed into the McCalls' kitchen.

"How is she?" Melissa asked, looking up from the pot she was stirring. Homemade chili, Scott had told Liam. Well, at least it was better than having Rafael's tacos all the time. Not that Scott had minded, because now he knew the real reason his father had left.

"Still sleeping," Liam replied. He shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to ignore the fact that his claws were coming out. He dug his fingers into his palms, feeling the sharp points of his fingers break the skin, blood slowly pouring out. He let out a small hiss between his teeth, then recited his mantra. The sun, the moon, the truth.

After a while when his hands healed, Liam thought about when he had woken up from his vision. Scott and Stiles had called Liam over to figure out what they could do to help Jane Doe out, to help wake her up from her slumber. When they had stepped through the door, they found Miss Jane-Not-So-Dead Doe laying on the couch, her eyes screwed shut, her fingernails revealing the tiniest hint of claws. But then the claws had receded back slowly as they had watched her eyes shoot open in fear, before they fluttered shut once again.

"I forgot to finish her paperwork," Melissa had explained to them, "so I went back to the morgue. I heard her screaming for help. She didn't remember where she was or who she was. I brought her back here, so you could help her, Scott. You have more experience than I do at the moment."

Scott snorted. "Technically, that's not true. Derek does, but I appreciate the thought, Mom."

Melissa sighed. "For someone who's been in a coma for at least 73 years and died yesterday, she's really not that heavy."

"73 years . . ." Liam murmured softly. "Does that mean she was about to Turn in . . . 1939-ish?"

"That would be correct," Melissa replied, frowning. "Why?"

Liam shook his head uncertainly. He honestly did not know why he had asked. It just had just slipped out like it was a normal thing to say. "Nothing," Liam quickly lied. Scott gave him a look of disbelief, but didn't say anything. Glancing into the living room, Liam studied the sleeping girl on the couch. He wondered if she would have two smiles when she woke up; one smile for her family, to comment what a strange dream she has had; the other smile when she realized where she was, the year she was in . . . Panic would engulf her as she struggled to comprehend what had happened to her, the fact that she had been asleep for oh, so many years. Liam wondered what would happen when she woke up. Until then, he just had to wait.

Which apparently was the next five seconds.

A shrill broken howl reached his ears. He and the others ran to where Scott was standing. Pausing in the middle of the doorway, he saw the girl sitting up, her legs tangled up in the blanket Melissa had placed on top of her. Thank God Melissa had the decency to loan the girl her old pajamas. The girl fell to the floor with a weak grunt and Liam rushed to help but instead he received a punch to the face. He staggered back, surprised. Scott and Stiles made a wild grab for her, but ended up missing, colliding into each other, both of them hitting the floor. Melissa tried to block the door while the girl pushed her out of the way, running out the front door.

_"Scott, howl! BE THE ALPHA! YOU'RE LETTING HER GET AWAY!"_ Stiles shouted over and over while Scott transformed, letting out a loud howl. A loud wail entered every werewolves' ears. Liam knows that Jane Doe had heard it, Scott's call. But still as Liam rose to his feet, he stared out the now open door in disbelief.

**_oOo_**

"The full moon's in a hour," Scott commented, staring up at the sky. The True Alpha turned to look at his Beta. "Are you sure you'll be all right by yourself?"

Liam nodded. He flicked out his claws to demonstrate. But he kept seeing blood falling from his fingertips . . . Scott didn't need to know that, did he?

Scott sighed. "If any of us finds her, you know what to do. Try to explain what she is, if you can. Call. Or just howl. Or use the baseball bat. Or just go full-on Electro. Either of those things could work."

"I think what Scott's trying to say is: don't kill her," Kira interrupted.

"What am I supposed to do?" asked Lydia. She had finally recovered from her moment from the morgue, but couldn't remember why she screamed.

"Go to the hospital with Mom. Maybe she'll go back there for some reason. Guys, we can do this," said Scott. "Let's find her and bring her back to the lake house. It's the closest we can take her. Or if we can, we'll take her to Derek's."

**_oOo_**

A few minutes later, the Pack was in the woods by where the old Hale residence used to stand.

Liam sniffed the air, trying to catch Jane Doe's scent, but there was nothing.

"Smell anything?"

"No. That's the problem, Scott," answered Liam. "I can't hear anything else either. Just me, you, Stiles, and Kira. I don't think she's here." He glanced around, thinking. The place where he and Scott were standing looked eerily familiar, even though Liam _knew _he had never been to this part of the woods before. _Why do I feel like I should know this place? _Liam asked himself, trying to make sense of the feeling in his stomach.

" . . .iam? Liam?" Scott was asking.

Liam snapped to, realizing Scott had been trying to get his attention for the last few minutes. "What? Sorry. I was thinking," he explained. "I feel like I've been here before."

"But you haven't," Scott pointed out.

"Yeah. I know," Liam whispered to himself. Closing his eyes, Liam tried to sense something, searching for a sound that would help lead to the girl.

_"SCOTT!"_

Kira's sudden scream broke the silence. Liam's eyes snapped open and both werewolves headed into the direction where Kira and Stiles were positioned.

_"SCOTT!" _Kira screamed again, her voice sounding more urgent, almost terrified.

"C'mon! C'mon! Breathe!" Stiles' voice was mumbling as the two boys neared closer.

Breaking through branches, Scott and Liam entered a small lake. They saw Stiles on his knees doing chest compressions on someone. When they got closer, they saw that it was Lydia lying on her back, drenched in water as well as Stiles. "C'mon, Lydia! Don't you die on me! Remember what I said what'll happen if you die?! I'll literally go out of my freaking mind!"

Stiles huffed, then pressed his lips to her mouth, blowing in more air into her lungs, water dripping from his hair. Scott looked toward Kira, who was standing to the side.

"She just came out of nowhere. She said that she wanted to help. And then . . . she went into the lake and tried to drown herself. She tried to drown herself and Stiles tried to stop her but she - she pulled him under right before she said something I didn't understand," Kira stammered, trying to explain. The Vixen looked down at her trembling hands. "I almost electrocuted them when I tried to help. Just when I thought I was getting everything under control . . . I almost killed them, Scott."

"It's not your fault," Scott told her. "What did Lydia say?"

"I don't-" Kira started before a coughing fit caught all their attentions. Lydia sat up, immediately rolling onto her side as water seeped past her mouth while Lydia tried to clear her lungs. When she finally could breathe again normally, Lydia raised her head to look at her friends. Her green eyes landed on Liam's and they narrowed, becoming a milky-white color, like she was blind. Before Liam could do anything, Lydia launched herself at the poor, unsuspecting werewolf, hands draping across his throat.

_"Help me! If I die, you're coming with me!" _Lydia snarled. _"Salvum me tuum aut te omnes inducantur ad mortem!"_

It wasn't Lydia's voice, though. Well, it was, but at the same time, it wasn't. The voice underneath Lydia's sounded completely different voices, in high and low pitches, in both male and female alike. Stiles wrapped both of his arms around the Banshee, tugging her backward, and Lydia did not resist, letting go of Liam's throat. Scott helped him up. Liam rubbed the spot where Lydia had grabbed him, standing on his feet. He gulped, sucking in air. He was terrified at the moment. He couldn't understand why Lydia would do that to him. When Lydia had begun strangling him, he was terrified, because A) she was much stronger than him at the moment and B) when her fingers pressed against his throat, he felt like it was decaying on him and he couldn't breathe. Literally, it felt like his throat was collapsing inside itself. He wondered if her powers were expanding and finally coming to be of use. The Banshee blinked and then the milky-white look in her eyes was gone.

Lydia looked around wildly. "Oh, God! What did I do now?!" She seemed ready to collapse on her knees, but Stiles' arms around her prevented that. Liam could only guess that she was feeling guilty and ashamed now for whatever she had done.

"What's happening to me?!" Lydia began to wail hysterically, tears running down her cheeks. "What did I do?!"

"Stiles . . ." Scott warned.

"Whatever happening to Lydia, it's gotta be because of that girl, Scott! This whole thing didn't start until she went to the morgue today! I'm taking her home. Call me if you find anything."

Stiles led Lydia away, trying to soothe her as they both headed back to his Jeep.

Scott put an arm around Kira. "It's not your fault," Scott told her again.

Liam tuned out. He could feel the pull of the full moon. It had gotten dark, night slowly plunging its way into the break of the afternoon. Time passed quickly without the Pack realizing it. They were focused on Stiles trying to save Lydia. He thought he was being selfish, but he knew that they needed to find Jane Doe quickly. If they did not find her, there's no telling what there was to do. Liam remembered his first Shift. His hearing had increased, making the smallest of sounds hurt his eardrums; pain struck his head when he saw that he had claws - _claws! _\- instead of fingernails. When he had blamed Scott, telling him that it was his fault . . . He hoped that if they couldn't find Jane Doe tonight, he hoped that she would get through the night without taking an innocent life. That was the least that he could hope for. But they would find her. Everything would work out. Would it?

Suddenly, Scott's phone rang, interrupting the silence. "Hello? Oh, hey, Mom." Scott pressed the speakerphone button as both Kira and Liam listened.

" . . . Lydia went somewhere and hasn't come back. Is she with you?" Melissa was saying. "And I don't -"

"Mom. It's okay. Lydia found us and she's with Stiles right now. We'll explain the rest when we get home. Did Jane Doe show up at the hospital?"

"No, she didn't. Scott, what are you going to do if you can't find her or if she doesn't show up?"

Scott was silent for a minute. "I don't know," the boy finally admitted. He looked at Liam, then Kira. Scott was supposed to be doing normal things that every other teenager did, like worrying about college, or wooing Kira, having their first official date. But he wasn't a normal teenager. He was a werewolf, thrust with this great responsibility of protecting his home, Beacon Hills. People looked up to him, he was a leader, someone to look to for guidance. He'd been forced to grow up quickly. Scott knew that the world was cruel, but he never expected that his first love, Allison Argent, would die. Stuff like that wasn't suppose to happen. But they did. They happened, whether he wanted it to or not. Scott spoke, "We've never really had to deal with this type of thing. I mean, having someone who's been in a coma for 73 years or so, Turning. Well, except for Kate, and we all sorta know how that one came out."

"Scott, have you considered the possibility that she doesn't want to be found?" Deaton's voice suddenly asked from the phone.

"Deaton? When did you - Nevermind. What do you mean 'if she doesn't want to be found?'" Scott asked.

"Well, assuming that she doesn't know she's a werewolf, she may be subconsciously suppressing or hiding her scent. Werewolves can do this, even if they think they're not doing it. Gather Lydia and Stiles. Meet your mother and me at Lydia's lake house. We have some information to discuss about our Jane Doe."

**_oOo_**

Liam dreaded the lake house. Sure, it had a nice view and everything, but he remembered that his first Shift had taken place here. And if they found the girl, or if she came to them, this place would be her Hell or her Paradise. The soft pattering of rain tap-dancing on the roof caught Liam's attention. He'd been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't know when it had started raining. He didn't know why he was thinking about this in the first place. _Why am I thinking about rain?! _Liam thought. But he knew that he wasn't raining when he came in through the Martin's lake house just a couple of minutes earlier. His eyes landed on the spot where his claws had scratched the wood when he had first Turned. He had apologized profusely about it to Lydia until she had stopped him and told him it was fine.

Liam turned his attention to the window, watching as a bolt of lightning streaked across the night sky, as the full moon peeked out from dark clouds, shining in all its former glory. Glancing around again, the young werewolf shifted uneasily on the balls on his others were worried. Stiles sat with Lydia on the couch with his arms around her, while Scott and Kira stood by the fireplace, with Scott still trying to convince Kira that whatever happened at the lake was not her fault. Melissa and Deaton sat on chairs at the Martin's dining room table, quietly conversing about Melissa's work at the hospital (as Stiles' dad couldn't make it because he had been called in for another crime scene along with Deputy Parrish and he expected to be kept posted.)

Liam sighed, thinking back to the conversation they just had a while ago.

_"Lydia, when she was at the hospital, she led me to the place where we keep the cold case files in the morgue. We went inside and found our Jane Doe's box. And . . . I brought it. Here. Don't worry, I'm taking it back later before your father finds out," Melissa assured Scott. __The group huddled around the dining table, craning their necks to get a glimpse inside Jane Doe's box. "I remember you saying that she wore a white dress, Liam." Melissa continued as she lifted a hand, reaching inside the box, "And I found this."_

_In her hand was a brown paper bag. Inside, a white dress laid there, its cloth splattered with red. Melissa put on some gloves, carefully pulling the dress up, and held it up for everyone to get a better angle and view. The dress was the same the last time Liam had saw it, but this time her plain dress was soaked with her own blood, five single tears ripping through the middle where her stomach would've been. The shoulder straps that had used to support her dress was now torn off, dangling from their last remaining threads still holding them in place. The hem of the dress was stained with a brown substance which Lydia confirmed was mud._

_Liam stared at the dress in horror as he cursed silently in his mind, thinking to himself: I did that? Then, he had remind himself that she had been attacked in 1939 and that he wasn't even alive then. There was no possible way he could've killed her . . . unless he traveled back in time or something of the sort. Ha! As if. And besides, even if he did travel back in time, why would he attack her? Did she provoke him in someway and his I.E.D got the best of him and he snapped?_

_He watched as Lydia reached into the box labeled "**JANE DOE, '39**" and selected another item from inside. She held in her hand a bracelet. It was simple, sliver and had a strange charm in the middle. To Liam, it looked like a knot with multiple loops entwining each other in a never-ending circle. But Lydia said, "An Algerian Love Knot. Meant to represent never-ending love." She gently touched the charm, then jerked her hand away like it burned her. The bracelet clattered to the table, skittering a couple of inches, finally resting against the box. Lydia stumbled back slightly, then regained her footing. "I'm okay," she said after a minute. "I heard her screaming again."_

Liam tore himself out of the memory, looking around to see if anybody had noticed it. It didn't look like anybody did, but he sat down in the nearest chair and exhaled deeply. Suddenly, Lydia lurched to her feet, breaking free of Stiles' embrace, walking slowly toward the front door. Liam stood up too, the others also now paying attention and standing also, watching as the Banshee made her way to the door. Liam stood behind Lydia as she opened the door.

"Hi," he said stupidly.

To his surprise, the girl from his dreams - literally - replied back in a soft voice, "Hello."

Lydia and Liam moved aside, while Lydia invited the drenched girl in and left the room, shortly returning with a towel for the new guest.

"Thank you kindly," Jane Doe whispered as she took the towel from the former Banshee's hand. Lydia smiled, but to anyone that knew her, they would have known that it was a pained, forced smile. "You're welcome," Lydia replied, returning to stand by Stiles' side.

This scene unfolding before Liam was very much like his own intervention had been, Liam realized with a start. Scott and the others were standing behind the couch before the girl as they had done to him . . . and now he had taken Kira's place. The girl quickly dried her hair, folded the towel and placed it on the armrest of the couch.

"I do not know why I have come here. I felt like something kept pulling me here," she said.

"Well it's Beacon Hills," Stiles joked, quoting their friend, Danny. It was what he had said to them. It had been almost a nightmare when they had found out that their friend, Danny Mahealani, had known about the existence of werewolves and the supernatural for quite some time. But Danny had proven he could be a good friend and help.

Jane Doe stared at him. "Um, yeah, I guess. It seems when I'd awakened, you were only trying to help me and I overreacted. I apologize."

Liam couldn't stop his stupid mouth from retorting angrily, "You punched me in the face!"

Jane Doe turned her head to look at him and his heart began to beat wildly. Not because of her beauty (she was, in fact, beautiful), but because of the fear rushing through him. That she would recognize him and scream. But she didn't. His heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest any minute and he wanted it to stop. Liam was pretty sure Scott could hear it, which was totally embarrassing. Some things he wished he could keep to himself.

"Again, I apologize," she replied, looking ashamed, her eyes downcast. She didn't look at anyone, not even to him. She turned back to face the others, not lifting up her head to look. "If you do not accept my apology, I understand. But you have to understand that I had just woken up in a morgue. I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't know who you people are, but I have this feeling that you are the only ones that can help me right now. You were there when I woke."

Scott took a step forward. "We know. And this may be hard for you to understand, but you have to know that this is real. Everything that happens from here on out is real. You're awake."

Jane Doe finally took that chance to look up, her back to Liam. Confusion lingered around her body. "All right," she said slowly.

Right off the bat, Liam knew they were going to show her. "There are things . . . that are not suppose to exist, but do. Beacon Hills is sort of a "beacon" to the supernatural. It draws them here, all sorts of different creatures, like werewolves and banshees."

Jane Doe had an amused look on her face, a cross between disbelief and something that could only be described as entertainment. She was interested, though, Liam could tell. He could feel it. "Werewolves . . . are real?" Jane Doe asked, a hint of sarcasm in her tone. "And I suppose, vampires are, too?"

"Not that we know of, but yes, werewolves are real," Scott nodded his head to confirm the last part, shutting his eyes. When he opened them, they blazed crimson.

"Wha . . ." The girl seemed to be at a loss for words, her mouth open, struggling to speak. Nothing came out and she closed her mouth as she continued to stare at Scott.

"I'm a werewolf," continued Scott, his eyes fading back to dark brown, "I'm also known as a True Alpha."

Silence.

"So," the girl said. She looked toward the others. "What are you?"

Kira was the first to speak up. "Kitsune. It's sort of like a fox. I can absorb electricity . . . sometimes." She shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal, but Liam could tell that it WAS a big deal. He had accidentally overheard her saying one night to herself that _"I'll never be as good as Allison, because I'm useless half of the time. I can't even keep my katana in my hands and use my powers when I most need it."_

Liam heard the faint sound of a heart-beat. It was painstakingly slow, not the way a normal heartbeat would have sounded like. With another realization, he realized that it was Jane Doe's.

"Banshee," Lydia told her. "I predict . . . death."

"Human," Stiles answered, rubbing the back of his neck. "But for a while, I was possessed by this evil Japanese spirit called the Nogitsune. Yeah, it's not as fun as it sounds. Trust me."

"And you?"

It took Liam a minute to figure out that she was talking to him. He met her eyes, those same eyes that had widened in terror as he ripped her apart . . . St_op it! _he thought.

"Uh. Werewolf," Liam uttered.

They watched the girl suck in a deep breath, wringing her hands around nervously. Any minute, she was going to say, _"This isn't happening! This isn't happening! I'M A LOON! I'M A LOOOOON!"_

But she didn't. Instead, she said, "Well. That explains it."

"Explains what?" Kira asked, looking confused. The Pack didn't expect her to take this well. She was suppose to be screaming, freaking out in the way Liam or Melissa had.

"All the things I could never explain. All the things others claimed were my imagination . . . I think I knew that the supernatural resided here. It's Beacon Hills, after all. And there's the fact that my teacher kept returning to the woods every full moon."

"That would explain it too," Stiles commented, winking and pointing a finger toward her.

"You're okay with all of this?" Melissa asked. "You're not freaking out?"

"Oh, no. I _am _freaking out. I just don't have enough energy to show it."

Liam chuckled and the girl cracked a small smile at him.

"I do have a question to ask and I want your complete honesty. Why was I in the morgue?"

There was silence. Finally, Liam decided to open his mouth to tell her, but Scott beat him to it.

"You were in an animal attack -"

"Scott -"

"- and you died instantly," Scott hurried in a rush. Scott really was the worst liar.

"Scott," Liam cut in. Scott shot him a look but Liam didn't shy away. He glared at him, wondering why Scott wasn't telling the truth. She deserved to know and she would find out eventually.

The anger that he kept locked inside him for the last 6 months began to unravel, snapping apart like a broken rubber band. He tried to stop it, trying to recite his mantra, but anger just kept pouring in. He turned to the girl. "I killed you. I was the one who dragged you into those woods and -"

"Liam, calm down," Scott ordered.

"I killed her!" Liam screamed back. "How else would I know everything that I told you so far?!"

"It wasn't you! You did. Not. Kill. Her. We'll figure out who did, but in the meantime . . . Calm down. Remember your anchor!"

_What three . . ._

"I killed her. I was there. I saw it through my own eyes. I felt her fear . . ." Liam faced Jane Doe and said, "You were wearing that white dress . . ."

_What three things - Come on, focus! _

"You're not suppose to be real. You're suppose to be dead. Maybe this is all in my head. Maybe I'm dreaming and I need to wake up," he blabbered, his eyes now shining gold. "You're not real." He started toward her, but Scott and Deaton came up from behind, grabbing a hold of his arms, pinning them behind his back.

"What three things cannot long be hidden?"Scott asked.

Liam screwed his eyes shut, trying his best to focus, trying to resist the urge not to tear his friends apart. "The sun . . ." Liam trailed off, seeing the girl stare back at him, eyes wide with terror, like he was a monster. _"Maybe I am a monster."_

"You're not a monster, Liam," Scott replied. "Focus."

"What three things cannot long be hidden?" Deaton finished for him.

"The sun . . . the moon . . . And the truth."

A cry of pain was suddenly heard. Everyone looked up to see Jane Doe doubling over like she just got punched in the stomach heard, hands clutching her head, her bare knees clacking onto the wooden floor as she fell, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her Shift has started.

Liam struggled, giving out a low growl, his canines slipping out. "The sun. The moon. The truth!" Liam repeated, panting. The golden light in his eyes faded, his eyes returning to their normal blue color. His body slacked from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. He fell, slipping out of Scott's and Deaton's grasp, hitting the floor. He managed to catch himself, landing on all fours. He saw the girl laying on her side in front of him, curled in a fetal position, whimpering in pain. Without thinking, he stretched out his arm, offering her his hand. She took it and he squeezed it for reassurance. He knew the undeniable pain that she must've been feeling right now. He'd been through and he wanted to let her have some comfort.

_The sun, the moon, the truth._

It had been many weeks -perhaps months- since his last outburst. The last being when he had met Brett Talbot when he got off the bus from Devenford Prep. Scott and Stiles had had to restrain him in the locker room under a cold shower, while he let out his anger. He had thought his I.E.D. would disappear like Scott's asthma, but it hadn't. Apparently, his Intermediate Explosive Disorder couldn't be cured. He had began to take the medication he was given, but every time those nightmares had plagued him, he'd forgotten about it. It wasn't his first priority and he'd paid for it. One time, when Lydia had worn a simple white dress, he'd just snapped for no reason at all.

A racing heartbeat thundered in his ears, disrupting his thoughts. The faint smell of rosemary entered his nose, and he figured that this was the girl's scent - perhaps the perfume she used to use back in her day. Liam liked the way she smelled, and then stopped himself. He had a huge breakdown and tried to kill her a few minutes ago. She thought he was a monster. Jane Doe's heavy breathing subsided, her sobs quieting down. Her small hand went limp in his own and then he realized that she had fallen asleep. The young werewolf removed his hand carefully, standing to his feet. He noticed that everyone was staring at him. "What?" he asked, beginning to feel a little annoyed.

"Nothing," Stiles amended quickly.

"If you're thinking that I like her or something, I don't." Liam told them. He told himself that love at first sight did not exist and that he didn't love her. Besides, even if they were in love, she'd be like a cougar or something. No. They were basically strangers, for goodness sake. Liam bent down, carefully scooping the girl up in his arms, carrying her to one of the nearest bedrooms. He laid her on the bed, putting a blanket on her and was just about to leave when suddenly, Jane Doe reared up from the bed, grabbing a hold of his shirtfront.

"Will it hurt?"

Liam hesitated. He considered lying, but then thought better of it. She would find out eventually. "Yes . . ."

Her grip relaxed and her eyes fluttered shut. Liam picked up the blanket that had fallen up the girl and placed it back on top of her sleeping form. He closed the door behind him as the lights clicked off.

What a surprise. The others had been standing in the hallway, eavesdropping. They tried to act like nothing happened and that they hadn't been listening, but Liam could see right through it. Then, he just got straight to the point. "After she Turns, keep her away from me from now on."

**Thirty Minutes Later**

Liam wanted to go home. But Melissa and Scott had debated on it, not letting him return home until his step-father got off from work. Sitting in the Martin's living room, he sat in silence, the T.V. illuminating his face in the dark, the volume on low. The movie he was watching chattered quietly in the background as the sounds outside echoed in Liam's ears, the wails of a crying baby, the soft crooning of a mother trying to comfort her child. He snapped back to reality when a pair of footsteps caught his attention, but when he turned to see who it was, no one was there. _Titanic _was playing and he rolled his eyes. Thankfully, it was near the end.

"What are you watching?" a voice asked from behind.

"Jeez!" Liam exclaimed in surprise. He whirled around and found himself face to face with Jane Doe. When did she get here? He immediately tried to compose himself, trying to act like he hadn't been scared out of his wits just a few seconds ago. "Uh, a movie."

Jane Doe moved around the couch, sitting down. "It's in color," she stated, her face widening in awe like a child's. "Are all flicker shows in color now? I did see _The Wizard of Oz _in 1939." She stopped talking, glancing down, then jumped up. "Were you sitting here? Did I take your place. Oh, my God. I should have asked before -"

"It's fine. You can sit there."

They both sat down, side by side. Liam glanced behind him, wondering where the heck Scott was. Wasn't he suppose to be watching her and keeping her away from him, like he'd asked? Now, he just had to keep his cool, and try not to lose his temper again. Great. Just great. Or he could just leave, but then that'd be rude. _Oh, like that other part isn't? _Liam shot back to himself snarkily.

"What are you watching?" the girl asked again.

"_Titanic._"

"The ship that was called 'The Unsinkable,'" she murmured, "And this is a commercial break, you say? For advertising?"

"Exactly."

This wasn't suppose to be happening now. He should be gone by now, not having this conversation with her.

"Scott said I was a werewolf?" Jane Doe blurted out after a moment of hesitation.

"Yes." When did Scott have the time to talk to her? Wait. Was he the one that sent her out here to talk to Liam, to see if he could keep his cool?

_Not cool, Scott. Not cool._

"And this is the year 2015 and I have been asleep for 74 years?"

Liam hesitated. ". . . Yes."

"And my parents are dead?"

"Most likely," Liam stated bluntly. He avoided looking at her, not wanting to see her expression.

Jane Dow didn't say anything, but he heard her sniff. That's when he looked at her. He was ready to apologize for being so rude, but then she said, "I wish I could remember my name." She looked to be on the verge of tears. He wondered if she was talking to herself or to him. The move began to play again and Jane composed herself quicker than Liam could ever do.

"This song's pretty. Who's the canary?"

"Canary? Uh, I'm not sure." He pulled out his phone, remembering impossibly that a canary in the 30's meant _a female vocalist_ and pulled up the _Soundhound _app. The song played for a few seconds before, the screen shifted to display the words: _"Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine" (Cover) by Moya Brennen (i.e. Máire Brennan.__) _Liam relayed this information to Jane Doe.

"What is it?" Liam asked when he saw her expression. She looked like she just got slapped.

"My name . . ." she said slowly. "It's Josephine. Josephine . . . Laddens."

Liam was silent. He considered on the right words to say, then settled on something simple. "Well, it's finally nice to know your name, Miss Josephine. I'm Liam Dunbar." He smiled, tipping an imaginary hat in her direction.

Josephine gave a small chuckle. "As well to you, Mister Liam Dunbar."

* * *

**END. Fun fact: When Josephine asks, "Who's the canary?" A canary meant in 1930's slang actually did mean: a female vocalist. Pretty cool, huh? Get ready for Josephine to say more dirty 30's slang. *winks***

**I apologize to everyone that have been patiently waiting for this chapter and that this took a while. My laptop kept deleting this for some reason so I went to get this fixed. It's still being a piece of junk but hey, at least it's still working. Chromebooks suck. More reviews = more updates (though I can't promise that so try not to get your hopes up even though I will try.) I post whenever a chapter's done.**

**Ch. III is titled "Never Too Late". Each chapter will consist of a quote, song, or movie title that will be important in later in the story. **

**** Also, the disclaimer on the first chapter will go for all the later chapters, so I won't have to keep repeating it. Mind you, I do not own _Teen Wolf _or their characters. All rights belong to Jeff Davis and MTV. That also goes for any pop-culture references among other things.**

**The answer to the question in the previous chapter is: Alexander the Great and Aristotle.**

**Question of the Day:**

_**Brothers and sisters I have none but this man's father is my father's son.**_  
**_Who is the man?_**

**Replies to comments:**

**Guest: Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like it! Actually, I do agree with her being in a coma since I talked to my mom about the whole morgue thing since she's a nurse, and she corrected me on a few things. Thank you for bringing my attention to that. **

**PandaGirl9771: (Cute username BTW; I love pandas). Allison will be in flashbacks (and they will be important). I'm glad to like the Stydia interaction, there will be more to come!**

**Special thanks to: ****mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger**


	3. Never Too Late

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter III**

_**"Never Too Late"**_

**_oOo_**

_**"The lovers, they wait**_

_**To decide the faith,**_

_**Well what can I say?**_

_**Its never too late**_

_**Whats its gonna take**_

_**To disguise the faith?**_

_**What can I say?  
**_

_**It's never too late."**_

_**\- thenewno2**_

**_oOo_**

"So, your name is Josephine Laddens," Scott repeated in what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Yes." Josephine looked a little annoyed as her thick eyebrow arched again (which Liam found cute) as she answered Scott's question from her spot from the McCall's couch.

After Josephine had remembered her name and Liam went home to his bed, the rest of the night had gone down pretty smoothly - except for one thing: Josephine's screams. They broke through the walls of his house, through the pillow he was crushing against his ears, trying his best to muffle the sound. He could hear all the way past the highway, past the blaring horns and sirens and into Lydia's lake house. He tried to turn off his werewolf hearing for the past five minutes but there had been no success. He'd never learned _how_ to turn it off yet. Scott still had to teach him. He had tried to focus on something else, like Coach Finstock yelling insults about Greenburg to his T.V. or even listening to a random girl singing "Baby." He even considered listening to his own music, but his earphones had died and Liam knew that it wouldn't have helped anyway, even if he had had the music on at full blast. Because he would always be able to hear things above a normal person's.

One of the perks of having supersonic hearing, he told himself. He wondered who was with Josephine right now, trying to help her through her Shift. Was it Scott? Was it Derek? Peter? Nah, he was still locked up in Eichen House after trying to kill them (again.)

Chris Argent? The only reason he would've returned from Mexico would be that he finished hunting down his psycho were-jaguar sister, Kate. And speaking of Mexico, what if it was that Calavera woman, Araya?

Liam scoffed to himself silently and rolled his eyes at the last part. He was pretty sure that Scott had told him that Araya had told Scott was that whenever he took an innocent life within a bite, she'd come knocking at his door. But that was when Scott actually would take a bite of an innocent in cold - or warm blood. So, Araya Calavera was out, along with Chris and Peter.

Liam had suggested watching over Josephine when her Shift started, but Scott had denied his request. Scott had told Liam that unless he completely got over the urge not to kill her for the time she was there, Liam was not allowed to be near her - which he could understand. After all, he did have a breakdown the first time they met. He tried to attack Josephine and Scott and Deaton were the ones that had to talk him out of it. And speaking of Josephine, even with the conversation they had last night, she probably still thought he was a monster. Which was something that he wanted to fix.

He _needed_ to fix their . . . relationship? Their bond of visions? Share of coincidences? What were they? They weren't a couple. They weren't exactly friends. The two barely knew each other and they were strangers and that was that. But if Liam wanted to find who Josephine's murderer was, then he needed to make sure that they both were on good terms before they started anything else. He listened uncomfortably as Josephine sobbed quietly in the distance. He wanted to tell her that it would get better as she learned to gain control. That it would get easier and that everything would always be all right. But that would be a lie.

Sometimes, life didn't work out the way it was suppose to. Not all things would be okay.

Below him, Liam's ears tuned in to the sound of a car being pulled into his driveway. His step-father was home.

Quickly, Liam flattened his pillow, placed it underneath his head, rolling over as he shut his eyes. Footsteps carried up the stairs and he heard a heavy sigh. His bedroom door creaked open slightly. Liam knew that his step-father was checking up on him. He had been ever since the incident where Garrett kidnapped Liam and dropped him in a well. The door clicked shut and the footsteps faded, his step-father retreating to his bedroom.

Liam wondered if Josephine's Shift was over and that if she got through without taking an innocent life. He felt his eyelids become heavy and he struggled to keep his eyes open. Liam then welcomed sleep, drifting into a deep, peaceful dream.

Liam was glad it was a Saturday. That meant more time to do his homework (ah, who was he kidding?) and more time to focus and figure out supernatural-related situations they were stuck in. In the afternoon, Scott had brought Josephine over from Lydia's and into his. Melissa was on break, helping her son try to get more information about her. Scott had pulled Liam aside, away from eavesdropping spots, as he told him in a low voice, "She didn't Turn." The True Alpha glanced at Josephine as if making sure she didn't hear, then back to Liam.

"What? Is that possible? If she didn't Turn, then why the hell was she screaming?"

"Her claws came out again and she freaked out. She also kept saying that her head hurt, but nothing else happened after that. I asked Deaton about this. He said that he believes she won't be able to Turn or Change for a while, since she was in a coma. Although, her Change may come in delayed bits and pieces."

"So they could happen at any random moment?"

Scott nodded. "Yes." He seemed to be worried about something. Then he said, "Liam. If you can prove to me that you've got your . . . anger issues or whatever they are under control, then we're one step closer to finding out who did this to her. Unless . . ." Scott trailed off, raising his eyebrow as if to make a point.

Liam frowned, and then it sunk in. He nodded. "Okay."

He didn't want to kill Josephine . . . did he? _No, you idiot!_ he screamed back to himself.

Scott stood in front of Josephine, repeating the question he'd already asked her.

"Yes," was her reply.

Stiles suddenly straightened as if fascinated about something and whacked Scott's arm. "Dude!"

"What?"

_"Dude!"_ Stiles repeated, like it should've been obvious. His moves became erratic. "Her father is Arthur Daley Laddens! I can't believe it took me this long to figure this out!"

"And this is important because?" Scott prompted, confused.

"Because Scott - Lyds, help me out here for a second - Arthur Daley Laddens was Beacon Hills' very own notorious mob boss right here in 1939."

"And supposedly, the reason that he started was because someone kidnapped his daughter," Lydia finished. "But that's never been confirmed." The Banshee studied Josephine as she spoke, then turned back to Scott.

Laughter suddenly erupted, breaking into the conversation and Liam turned to see Josephine chuckling. "You seriously think my father was a criminal? That's not possible. He would _never_ do that, even if I _was_ dead. Your sources are sadly mistaken, I'm afraid."

She was in denial. Scott could tell too, from the look on his face. Lydia mustered a sad smile, glancing down at the floor as she did so. But Stiles looked at her with a dark look in his eyes, leaning forward. Josephine shrunk back as if trying to disappear into the couch, probably wishing she wasn't here right now.

"Your father's dead. Dead and buried six feet in the ground; he's a corpse locked away in that coffin of his and his bones are already crawling with greedy little maggots," Stiles said. "And his death's no mistake."

"Stiles!" Lydia abolished in surprise, her eyes wide with shock.

Stiles turned, grinning. "Ah, Miss Lydia!"

Liam realized that Stiles' voice had become deeper and much more raspier as he continued to speak. He wanted to slap himself for not recognizing it the moment it happened. This wasn't Stiles standing in front of them.

"The Banshee," Stiles drawled. He took a couple of steps toward Lydia. "You know . . . the boy never stopped loving you when he was with that abomination of a coyote you call Malia. But sadly, as much as I'd love to play matchmaker right now, I'm not here to talk about that." Without warning, Stiles reached out and grabbed her wrist. Lydia tried to pull away.

"Stiles, this isn't you!" she cried out. "This isn't you, Stiles!"

Stiles snickered. "Everyone has a dark side, baby. Your precious Stiles still has nightmares from the reign of the Nogitsune. I'm helping him get rid of them now. Maybe I'll be the one to finally light up the Spark inside him and I can be greatly rewarded. Who knows, McCall?" Stiles smirked to his former best friend. Scott only stared in shock in response. "I think you need it."

"His eyes," Scott stammered out. Liam looked closely and saw that Stiles' eyes were milky-white, just like Lydia's had been at the lake. When she had attacked Liam.

_What if . . . ?_

"Someone's possessing them," Liam realized. He didn't know how the heck he came up with that conclusion, but then Stiles interrupted him.

"Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner!" Stiles exclaimed. "Look at that. Baby Beta has a brain. You know, I really thought you were going to say '_Someone's controlling them_', but the possessing thing works too."

No one else had moved. Not even him. Finally, he tried to remain incompetent, slinking back into the dining room. He dialed the first number he could think of.

Derek.

The line began to ring and immediately, it picked up.

_"Hello?"_ a gruff voice answered.

"Yeah, Derek? It's Liam. Uh, there's something wrong with Stiles and -"

_"What's wrong with him?"_ Derek demanded. "_Wait. Did he do something stupid again?"_

"No, that isn't it. It's more like someone's possessing him or something."

_"The Nogitsune?"_ Derek asked, a hint of fear behind his voice.

"Uh, no?" Liam still had no idea what a Nogitsune truly looked like and he didn't want to stick around to find out. "I'm pretty sure that's not it. Just come over. Oh - and get Kira on the way while you're at it. I'm putting you on speaker."

With that, Liam dropped the phone back into his pocket and returned back to his spot, hoping that Stiles had been too occupied to know what had happened. Judging from the knowing look on Stiles' face, Liam guessed that he failed.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Scott finally asked, shaking himself out his stupor.

Stiles tsked. "Everybody knows that's not the type of questions you ask on a first date, McCall!" Stiles let go of Lydia and started toward the True Alpha. "Look. You don't need to know who I am. But if you want a name, just call me Bob. Dead Bob."

_"Dead Bob?"_ Everyone echoed.

"What?" Stiles shrugged. "Not everyone can come up with something original. So, sue me. And as for I want . . ." Stiles turned to Josephine. "You want to know what happened to you that night? Let the boy help you. These group of misfits are your only chance. And -" Stiles looked up at the ceiling, holding his arms out by his side. "Oh, come on! No, I'm not done yet!" Stiles growled in frustration, then huffed. He glanced around at the Pack. "Apparently, the mother ship's calling me back home, so I'm afraid I don't have much time." Stiles reached out, cupping Lydia's face and kissed her. When he pulled away, she staggered back a little. "Sorry, Lyds. Well, I gotta scoot. Spock over and out, suckers."

Stiles lifted up his left hand and formed the Vulcan sign. Liam heard the dial tone of his phone and knew that the call for Derek had ended. Before the rest of them could do anything, the milky-white faded from Stiles' eyes, then glowed a flash of bright blue before returning back to their normal honey-brown. Stiles tittered back, but before he could fall, Scott caught him by the shoulders, standing him upright. He helped his best friend sit on the couch by Josephine. The door suddenly flew open. The Pack saw Derek wolfed-out and Kira holding up her katana. Sparks of electricity skittered and flew around Kira's fingertips and the long silver blade. The two glanced around before realizing that there wasn't a fight to be fought anymore.

Derek cursed. "Did we miss it?"

Kira lowered her katana, her sparks fizzling out in disappointment. "What happened?"

Stiles groaned in response, rubbing the back of his head. "My head. What the hell happened? And why do I feel like I just got hit by Chubby Bunny?"

"Because you sorta did?" Josephine told him, shrugging her shoulders. She scooted a little to her left away from Stiles. "And threatened me . . . about my father. Apparently, you were . . . possessed."

Stiles stared at her blankly, silent. Then he shot up from his seat, realization hitting him. "Not again!" he complained. "Can that Nogitsune stop -"

"It wasn't the Nogitsune, Stiles," Scott countered quickly. "He said his name was De - Bob."

"What kind of demon names himself 'Bob'? You would think he would pick something more fearsome? Like, "Bloodstain Bob" or . . . ? Whatever. Well, did you guys at least kick my - _his_ ass or not?"

"Um, not exactly, I don't think there really was a fight coming. I think he was just a messenger."

"Great." Stiles sighed. "So, that means he's just a chew toy and Big Momma or Papa's coming to town."

Liam saw Josephine's bewildered expression and had to force himself not to laugh.

Lydia went over to Stiles. "Are you okay?" she asked. "I know it isn't easy for you . . . But," she paused, "We're all here for you, Stiles. You know that, right?"

Stiles glanced at her, disbelief spreading through his face. "Yeah, I know. Why are you . . . Did - Did that Bob tell you guys something?"

"He might've mentioned something about you still having nightmares about . . . what the Nogitsune did," Lydia admitted. "But Stiles, that wasn't you."

"You don't think I know that?" Stiles retorted. "Every night, I used to go to sleep and see Allison and Aiden . . . And I have to keep reminding myself that it wasn't me, but the Nogitsune that triggered the Oni to kill my friends. It was him, not me."

Lydia touched his cheek.

"Can you two just kiss already? The sexual tension between you two is killing me," Josephine suddenly said. Liam smiled and she returned it, shyly. But he saw a flicker of fear and sadness in her eyes as she looked away. Because of him? Or Stiles' words about her father?

Stiles turned to Josephine. "I'm sorry about whatever I - _he_ said to you."

Josephine stood up. "No. You were right. My father . . . is dead. I am such a fool to get my hopes up. That my mother and father are still alive."

Stiles faced the others. _"What the hell did I say to her?!"_ he stage-whispered in a hushed tone.

"I would like to visit them," she said.

"Okay." Scott nodded, then realized that she was asking for his permission. The _Alpha's_ permission. Did she consider herself a part of his Pack already? Even though, she hadn't Changed fully?

Lydia broke away from Stiles' embrace. She went into the dining room, shortly returning with a paper and a pencil. She scribbled something on the paper and folded it into a square. She then went to her purse, reaching her small sketchbook that she kept inside there. She flipped through the pages before she found what she was looking for, then carefully ripped it out, folding that one into half. Lydia handed the small paper she had to Liam and the sketchbook paper to Josephine. "Don't open it until you meet him by the gallow tree," she told her. She faced Liam. "And you . . ." The Banshee leaned in and whispered, "Some say troubles are bound."

Liam met Lydia's eyes as she stepped back. "W-What?" he stammered uncertainly. Did he hear that right?

Lydia frowned, perplexed. "I didn't say anything."

Her heart didn't spike up, which meant she wasn't lying. She must've had had another Banshee moment where she did weird - and mostly important - stuff and then blacked out, not remembering anything. Liam still didn't understand half of the things she did.

Like the time when she drew the Nemeton.

Liam had asked one day at Stiles' place why Stiles had had a picture framed of a tree in his room. Stiles had explained that before Liam had moved to Beacon Hills, they had been trying to find out a way to defeat a Darach, who turned out to be their English teacher. Her name used to be Julia Baccari and she used to be the emissary to an Alpha named Kali. Kali had been ordered to kill Julia but couldn't bring herself to do it; instead, she only succeeded in clawing her face off, but did not bother to check to see if she was actually dead. This helped Julia crawl to the Nemeton and use its power to keep herself alive until Sheriff Stilinski found her. Eventually, Julia became a Darach, which meant "Dark Druid" and changed her name to Jennifer Blake. She had begun to use sacrifices in her revenge plan to kill the Alpha Pack and she also had been the one to reveal to Lydia that she was a Banshee, right before she tried to strangle her with a garrote, because Lydia had known too much. Jennifer had taken Stiles' and Allison's father and Melissa McCall as sacrifices because of their roles as "Guardians" to the Pack. Stiles, Allison, and Scott had exchanged their lives for their parents, to find out where Jennifer had taken them. In doing so, they had also released the Nogitsune. (But that was another story for another time, Stiles had told him.)

"Would someone like to escort me to the cemetery?" Josephine was asking. "No one has to! I'm just saying . . . "

This was his chance. He could prove to Scott he could change. That he could control himself around her and that together, the two could figure out who Josephine's murderer was. Liam raised his hand in the air slightly. "Um . . . I can do it." He looked to Josephine waiting for her answer. He had a feeling that she didn't want to be alone when she faced the reality that both of her parents really were dead.

"Are you sure, Liam?"

_Yes, Scott. I'm sure. I hope._

He nodded. "I can show her," he stopped, then corrected himself. "If she wants me to."

Josephine smiled weakly. "All right," she murmured. Her eyes darted around nervously, unable to keep eye contact with Liam.

_She still doesn't trust me. Of course, she doesn't, you idiot! You tried to attack her!_

"It's within walking distance," he told her. Josephine nodded as she turned, heading for the door. Liam glanced down and noticed her feet, doing a double-take to make sure he was seeing correctly. "Uh, Josephine? Do you . . . want some shoes?"

"No. I appreciate the offer, though."

"Okay . . ." Liam shot a confused glance to the others, but they all gave him a thumbs-up.

_Really?!_ Liam gave the rest of the Pack a disbelieving glare as he grabbed his jacket, slipping it on as he followed Josephine out the door.

Josephine seemed to know where she was going so Liam lagged behind. He couldn't help but sneak a peek of the way her hips swung from side to side, like she didn't care what anybody thought of her. Suddenly, she stopped and turned around.

"I would appreciate it if you would stop. Staring. At. My. Ass," she said.

_Damn_. "Sorry," he admitted sheepishly.

She turned and Liam walked by her side this time, embarrassed that she caught him staring at her. He kept seeing her bare feet, wondering why she didn't want any shoes. He tried to recall if she had worn any shoes in his vision when she was murdered. Then he came to an conclusion that he should've noticed in the first place and felt so stupid for not noticing it all. "Josephine?"

"Yes?" She was looking at him as they walked, waiting for him to continue.

"I think I figured out why I've been having these dreams about you."

"Why?" Josephine asked, with hesitation.

"Because I'm seeing it through your killer's eyes."

**_oOo_**

"Beacon Hills Cemetery," Josephine read aloud upon seeing the entrance sign above their heads. "I haven't been here since my grandmother passed."

Liam turned to her, surprised. "You lived here?"

"I've always lived here. I was born here," she explained, glancing at him like he was an idiot.

_Maybe I am._ Liam couldn't figure out one thing though: if she was born and raised here in Beacon Hills, then how did she end up all the way in Beacon County?

When he snapped back to reality, Josephine was already walking through the tall kissing gate. She began to search the headstones, reading the names as she went by.

"I'll take this side," he called out to her. When Liam didn't get her answer back, he decided to go on ahead and search the names of the deceased. He wanted to get onto Josephine's good side. He wanted to prove that he could help and help her feel like she could trust him, even though she didn't know him that well. So, that she wouldn't be afraid of him anymore.

Some headstones were elegant and well cared for while others were weathering away, the names on them hard to read as they had faded over time. Upon the first few minutes, he saw a name he recognized.

**In Memory of:**

**Allison Argent**

_**1996 - 2014**_

Below her name read:

**"Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent se protéger."**

_**(We protect those who cannot protect themselves.)**_

Allison was buried next to her mother, whose name was Victoria. From what he had knew, Liam knew that Scott and the others did not really like her. Liam wondered what Allison had been like, and how she would've been like if she was still alive today. And how she would've reacted to Scott biting him. _Probably not very well,_ Liam thought.

_"Some say troubles are bound . . ."_ Lydia had whispered to him, What did she mean by that? Did she mean that being with Josephine would bring trouble? That Josephine was trouble? That he was trouble? Nothing made sense.

He glanced around to see how Josephine was doing and to see if she made progress. She was ahead of him, further than he was, walking more swiftly, her eyes darting left and right rapidly. She was nearing the end of her row and then the next one after that would be her last.

Liam turned back to the headstones. He passed a few more, searching for the last name of Laddens, waiting for it to appear. When he didn't, he felt that something was off. He began to jog, skimming through the names as he went by, meeting up with Josephine at the end of her row as soon as he finished with his.

"Anything?" he asked.

Josephine shook her head. "No." She looked like she was forcing herself not to cry. "I don't understand. Why would your friend tell us to come here? And why did she say that someone would meet me here? There's no one else here except for you and me."

Whistling caught their attention and they both turned to see a old man with a cane, hobbling a few rows in front of the gate. He murmured a greeting toward a grave before he looked up, noticing the two teenagers, giving them a small wave. Liam and Josephine waved back while they watched the old man walk away. Then he was gone.

Liam let out a sigh. He wasn't the best person to ask when it came to solving things. Mostly, that was Stiles' and Lydia's routine. He thought back to her inquiry.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. He stopped for a second, hesitating before finally figuring out what he was going to say. "Let's stop and think this through for a second."

Josephine glanced at him, sighing deeply. Her eyes wandered over the ground beneath her. "Gallow . . ." Josephine was mumbling softly. "Gallow tree. Hanging tree . . . It's a hanging tree." Josephine looked up, excited as then she hurried on to explain. "People used to string up the dead upside down in a tree, which at the time were known as a . . . hanging or gallow tree. That's it, Liam. _That's it!_"

"I never would've thought that," he admitted. "So, now that we know what a gallow tree is . . . Where is it?"

The two of them glanced around the cemetery before Josephine pointed it out, saying,_ "There."_ as she began to run toward it.

"Josephine, wait!" Liam called out and without meaning to, reached out and grabbed her arm.

She yanked her arm out of his grip violently, like he just burned her and continued to run. Once she reached the tree, she froze in her steps. Liam came up behind her and saw what she was looking at. Two lone graves stood side by side next to each other, behind the gallow tree, the graves branding the surname of Laddens. Josephine let out a strangled gasp, covering her mouth, dropping to the ground on her knees.

"No. No. _No!_" She sobbed, wrapping her arms around herself. A anguished cry escaped from her mouth and Liam felt the pain she was experiencing crash into him, her scent composing of sadness, sorrow, a hint of anger, and extreme grief. He wanted to try and comfort her, but his other side howled not to. She wasn't to be trusted. Humans, it snarled, were fragile and broke easily. She could, at the very least, blabber the existence of supernaturals here to a random stranger.

Werewolves, hunters, and banshees, oh my!

Besides, Josephine would only push him away and they would be no closer in finding out who her murderer was. Sometimes, didn't strangers let someone cry on their shoulder in a time of need? They listened and offered to help them out, and then in the meantime, during several more interactions, they grew close and eventually became friends. And sometimes, more than just friends.

Would this help bring the two of them closer and that he could gain a bit of her trust? He doubted it, but he knew what it was like to lose somebody. He had lost his grandfather at a young age before he moved to Beacon Hills. Liam remembered that he had felt that a piece of him had disappeared and that it seemed that he was still searching for it.

That missing piece he lost.

Liam hesitated, then knelt besides her. He glanced at her, unsure what to do next. Should he put his arm around her? Hug her? Before he could choke out his condolences, Josephine lifted up her head, looking straight at him with teary eyes and began to speak.

"I'm too late." She let out something that was between a half-sob/half-laugh. She tried to wipe away her tears to no avail. "I'm too late. I . . . remember that I was angry at them . . . for some reason. I screamed to them that I _hated_ them . . . And then I left. I just left without apologizing to them . . . They're dead, and my last words to them were that of _"I hate you!_" Josephine's chest heaved up and down heavily as more tears raced down her cheeks at a rapid pace. Suddenly, she let out a shout of anguish, a raspy sob coming from her mouth. "Why - Why did I say that? Now it's too late to apologize for . . . " She uttered some more words silently to herself, clenching and unclenching her hands, curling them into fists, then eventually rubbing her palms together and Liam could see the whites of her knuckles.

"It's never too late," Liam told her. "It's not too late to say that you're sorry."

"But . . . "

"It's not too late," he promised. "They'll forgive you." _God, I hope I'm right. I have no clue what I'm doing right now._

She was quiet. A flicker of emotions rippled through her face, her expressions ranging from grief to confusion to hopefulness and disbelief. She turned to him, her tear-filled eyes wide with uncertainty. "You really believe that they'll forgive me?"

Liam hesitated, then considered his choice of words. He knew that if he promised that they would, he would be lying, because he had no way of knowing that they would even forgive her when they were both dead. "I believe so."

She mustered a quick tearful half-smile toward him gratefully, then turned her head to face her parents' graves. He took that as a cue to leave, so he got to his feet and backed up a couple inches behind her.

She touched the top of both of their headstones with her hands and said, "Hello, Mother. Father. I know it's been a while - 75 years, give or take - since I've seen you both. I . . . just wanted to apologize for . . . the way I acted when I . . . left. " Liam noticed that she didn't say "died" but decided not to say anything. Josephine took a deep breath. "I know that it must've been very hard for you when . . . I didn't come back. But here I am. I'm back. Granted, I've only just recently found out that I was murdered in 1939 and am now turning into a supernatural creature after being stuck in a coma for more than two decades. But I'm back home. I'm back home," she repeated, as if trying to convince herself that. "And I haven't realized that I've taken you both for granted. For these years . . .And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not telling you that I love - _loved_ . . . you when . . . it mattered. You always stood by my side. I'm sorry you weren't able to see me have your grandchildren. I'm sorry you never got to see me get married or walk me down the aisle . . . I'm sorry that I left that night and got myself murdered. I'm sorry that you've both spent probably the rest of your lives looking for me. I'm sorry that you've wasted time. I'm . . . sorry for everything I put you through. And I know you probably won't forgive me for putting you both through all of that Hell." She sniffed and smiled weakly. "But that's okay. I got . . . a second chance. I can make it right this time. I can live out the life I was suppose to have." Josephine was quiet for a moment. "I'll miss you," she continued quietly. "I'll try to see if I can come back again soon. I love you."

She stood up slowly and shakily, turning to face Liam. He saw the tears well up in her eyes again once more and he could see her trying to repress it, trying her best not to cry, then her face crumpled. He went to her and embraced her while she wept. Her body kept slacking and soon he was supporting both of them up. Josephine kept her arms down, but then slowly embraced him back, her body trembling.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

He could sense her pain and then without thinking, he _drew_ her pain into himself, watching as the veins in his arm turned black and then her pain streaked into his own body. He clenched his teeth together to keep from crying out. It overwhelmed him and he felt like he was drowning in a ocean of grief and anger and shock and heartbreak. Was this what she'd been feeling ever since she woke up?

After about a minute, she suddenly pushed him away abruptly as if she'd been caught doing something illegal, her sobs subsiding, wiping away her tears. The breaths she exhaled were shaky and slow, like she was having a hard time getting air out. Her breathing steadied and Josephine looked up at Liam. "Thank you," she whispered.

Liam thought for a minute that Josephine somehow figured he took her pain, but she went on.

"For being here. You didn't have to stay," she explained, her voice becoming hard near the end.

"It was the least I could do," Liam told her.

As they turned to walk out of the cemetery, Liam asked, "You said you've lived here before, right?"

"That would be correct. Why?"

"Do you . . . maybe want to see your house?" Liam figured it might be helpful and that she would get some of her memories back if she went back to the place where she used to live. And to help push her mind away from her parents.

"I don't need to."

"Okay. I just thought it would help -"

"Liam," Josephine interrupted, reaching out to place her hand on his shoulder. She retracted it at the last minute. "We don't need to go see my house. Because we were just there."

Liam frowned. What? Then, impossibly, he understood. "Wait. You used to live in Scott's house?" he blurted out. "What?! How?"

He didn't believe in coincidences or anything else like that for that matter, but two times already? Him meeting Josephine even though she was suppose to be a dream. And now, the fact that she used to live in Scott's house, which didn't make any sense to him whatsoever.

"I'm - I'm . . . I'm so confused, right now," Liam stammered.

"Then that makes two of us," Josephine said aloud.

They stood in their places for a few more minutes, trying to take everything in. Liam snuck a glance toward Josephine, trying to act like he was all cool with everything that had just happened. Judging from her body language, she was trying to do the same thing, too.

"You ready?"

"Yes. Are you?"

"Pfft," Liam snorted. "Tch, yeah. I'm ready."

Silence. Liam avoided looking at her, pretending to be interested anything else, but her face._ Holy crap, this is awkward._

"We're procrastinating, aren't we?" Josephine asked finally.

"Yup," he answered, rubbing the back of his head. Then he said, "We should probably get going before it's dark."

"Right."

They exchanged glances and then burst out into laughter.

The chuckles faded when the young werewolf started to walk forward once more, but Josephine stopped him in his tracks. "Liam!" she called out.

He turned his body halfway.

Josephine opened her mouth, seemingly ready to say something, but then changed her mind at the last minute. "Nothing. It is nothing."

**_oOo_**

When they got back to Scott's house, Lydia immediately had taken it upon herself to help get Josephine cleaned up. Despite her protests, Josephine eventually caved in, letting Lydia drag her up the McCalls' stairs and into the shower. Kira had been at Lydia's house, gathering clothes for Josephine to wear, along with her own.

Liam was telling Scott about Josephine living in the True Alpha's house when Lydia came down the stairs. The Banshee was beaming and Liam could only guess she was extremely pleased with whatever she had done to Josephine. Within a few minutes, Josephine shyly appeared on top of the stairs.

Liam couldn't help but stare. It was exactly like the moment he'd first seen Kira. Except in this moment, Josephine wasn't falling flat on her face.

She was wearing a half-buttoned-up white blouse with a pair of high waist jeans, completed with a black braided belt. Then he let his eyes travel up, noticing that her long, curly hair was now cut shoulder-length, framing her face.

"So . . . What do you think?" Lydia asked. She glanced at her friends. It'd been a while since she had done her last makeover . . . which had been with Stiles' ex-girlfriend, Malia. Talk about awkwardness, because that was when the Banshee finally realized that she had feelings for Stiles.

"You look great," Scott replied truthfully, speaking for everyone. Everyone else nodded in agreement as well as Liam, when he finally shook himself back to reality.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"Thanks," Josephine whispered. She looked down at herself uncertainty (and Liam noticed she was _finally_ wearing shoes) and cleared her throat. She then quickly changed the subject and to Liam, it seemed that she was embarrassed with all the attention she was receiving. He could smell it and it practically made her uncomfortable. "It amazes me that everything has changed drastically when I was asleep. I mean, women can vote now! And wear pants. Ooh, its so wonderful! Unlike wearing dresses for almost everyday of your life . . . I like it."

Suddenly, a cellphone rang. Liam wondered whose it was before Stiles realized it was his. "Hey, Dad. What's up?"

_"I need you to bring that girl of yours over to the police station,"_ Sheriff Stilinski was telling Stiles.

"Okay. Uh, why? She didn't -"

_"She didn't kill anyone, if that's what you're asking. I just need to put her back into the system. Maybe register her as the great-great-great granddaughter of Arthur Laddens."_

Stiles let out a sigh of relief. "Whew! Okay, yeah. We'll bring her over there and . . . " - Stiles shot Liam a devilish grin and Liam wondered what he was up to - "You can finally meet Liam's dream girl. Literally."

"What the hell did you just say?!" Liam shouted, reaching for the phone. Stiles stepped back teasingly, holding the phone out of his reach. Liam playfully tackled him to the ground, wrestling the phone out of his friend's grasp, but it was too late because the call had already ended. Liam groaned.

Stiles stood up and patted the werewolf on the shoulder. "Sorry, Liam. Couldn't resist."

Liam let out a low growl as he handed Stiles his phone back.

Stiles eyed the sophomore warily as he raised his hands in a _"I surrender"_ motion. Liam chuckled wryly and rolled his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You win," Liam said. He sat down on the couch, lazily letting his arm hang off the couch armrest.

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" Josephine asked Stiles. "Please tell me I didn't -"

"You didn't," confirmed Stiles. "My dad just wants you to come down to the station so he can put you back into the system."

Josephine nodded, then looked confused, frowning, darting her eyes uncertainly. "I don't understand."

"You'll find out when we get there. Liam, you coming with us?" Lydia asked, shooting Josephine a sympathetic smile.

He shrugged his shoulders in a "_Why not?" _movement. "Yeah, sure. Got nothing better to do."

**_oOo_**

It was a busy day at the station but Sheriff Stilinski took the time to meet the Pack at the front desk when they arrived.

"Hey, Stiles." He patted his son's shoulder and led them into his office. "So, anything new I need to know about?"

As Stiles explained as best as he could, Sheriff Stilinski looked to be struggling to comprehend the situation. "So, Liam here had a dream that . . . came true?"

"Yup."

Sheriff Stilinski stared at the Pack for a minute. He opened his mouth, closing it and re-opening it several times before he settled on saying, "Okay. Maybe I don't even _want_ to know. I don't want to know."

A knock sounded and the door opened, allowing Deputy Parrish to step in.

"Sir? You wanted to see me?"

"Ah, yes. Can you take Josephine here to get her fingerprints printed and into the database?"

"Sure."

Deputy Jordan Parrish smiled warmly at Josephine, acknowledging her presence. He led her back to the station to his desk, where Parrish introduced himself and then began to ask her questions. Josephine noticed Liam watching her from the window, waving shyly toward him as she turned her attention back to Parrish. Liam turned his attention back to Sheriff Stilinski who was talking about the recent line of attacks happening in the past few days. According to him, there had been several mentions of people claiming that this "darkness made them" murder their loved ones or total random strangers. Each victim had been brutally murdered, their bodies left dismembered, and left in the woods. But the strangest was that each body had been placed on top of the Nemeton.

"That damn tree," Stiles cursed. "Everything always seems to come back to that goddamn tree. First, Jennifer. Then the Nogitsune. What the hell is gonna come next? A rapid pack of Pokemons or some other shit?"

"Stiles," Sheriff Stilinski warned.

"Sorry, Dad. I just really hate that tree."

"We all do," Scott assured his best friend.

Kira agreed, slowly nodding her head, remembering the time that her mother had unleashed the Oni from the Nemeton.

Liam had heard a lot about the Nemeton, but had never experienced any actual situations with it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to in the first place, with all the bad things he heard about it.

"Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath it," Liam murmured.

"What?"

It was silent for a minute. Liam looked up to see the Pack staring at him. Even Sheriff Stilinski.

"What?" Lydia repeated. "How do you know that?" Lydia looked scared, her eyes wide.

"Was it something I shouldn't have said?" Liam asked nervously.

"Jennifer said that to me right before . . . she tried to kill me."

"Oh." Liam left it at that because he didn't know why he had said that in the first place. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that."

A familiar scent entered the room and Liam glanced to the door, seeing Josephine standing there.

The others turned. Josephine raised her fingers, revealing the faintest hint of black ink. She hadn't gotten all the ink off. "He told me we were finished."

Liam scooted over on the couch he was sitting on, making room for her. But she stared at him for a minute before jerking her thumb behind her shoulder.

"Someone said that they wanted to see you. All of you."

Josephine stepped inside and sat next to Liam - hesitantly, he might add. He could hear the quiet murmuring buzz of the station as police officers went about on their routines. Two new scents wafted across the station, alerting Liam of the presence of them both being supernatural. They were close . . . And they were both werewolves.

Liam's canines slipped out and he stood up, prepared to meet whoever was coming. The newcomers' shadows entwined on the floor as they reached the open door.

"Liam, stop," Scott ordered, taking a step toward his Beta.

Liam stayed where he was, slowly retracting back his canines. He didn't know whether the people in front of them were friends or enemies. But Scott was using his Alpha tone so he must've known who they were - or at least recognized them.

Scott stepped in front of Liam. "Isaac."

The dark-haired female behind Isaac stepped into view and smacked Isaac's chest, like she was annoyed with him. "And Cora," she interjected with a hint of sarcasm.

"What are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you both here and all, but . . . I thought you were back in France. And South America."

"Well, I was," the blonde curly-haired boy called Isaac replied, shooting a look toward Liam. Issac then quickly flashed his golden eyes at the young Beta, before returning them to their normal color. "We were. _I_ was trying to help out with some towns after Chris left. They all had these murders happening out of the blue for no reason at all. And more and more supernaturals kept showing up wherever I went. They all kept slaughtering innocents for no particular reason that I knew of. I still don't know why. But it just so happens that when I took a trip to South America and out of all things . . . I just had to run into the one and only Cora Hale here. And I thought it was just a pure random coincidence, but -"

"I told him that I felt like I was _meant_ to be there for some reason. I couldn't explain it," Cora said. "I mean, I know Derek picked the place out, but what if it was where I was meant to be?"

"So we asked around and we found out that each town has their own Nemeton," Isaac continued. "Something or someone is going around the world and influencing innocent people to carry out sacrifices or that's what it looks like."

Scott exhaled. "And therefore giving power back to their Nemetons," he concluded. "Including ours."

"What are they talking about?" Josephine whispered to Liam.

"I got no clue," he whispered. He understood they were talking about the Nemeton but everything else made no sense. Man, he really need to catch up on his late night readings of the books that Deaton had given him.

Everybody had their eyes on Isaac as he continued to speak, now very serious. "If power is being drawn into every Nemeton there is, then that probably means that something big is going to happen. Remember how Jennifer used only a fraction of its power? Imagine almost ten thousand times that."

"And all of that power . . . would be enough to destroy the whole world," finished Lydia. She and Stiles exchanged worried looks. "If people harm or damage their trees in any way, they'd be bringing all kinds of death and destruction. Fires would break out and plagues and strife would be unleashed."

There was silence as everyone took that new information in.

"So . . . that's bad, then?" Liam remarked. He scratched the back of his head nervously. He really didn't want to see the whole world end. Well, sure, there were times when he hated his life and the world at times, but that was suppose to be part of the whole teenager routine, right? But he didn't want to see the whole world burn.

"With all that power, people are going to be fighting for it. They're gonna be the one that will do anything to keep it." Sheriff Stilinski said aloud.

Liam stared at him before glancing toward Isaac, Cora, and Josephine. Josephine met his gaze.

Josephine murmured aloud some words that sent chills down Liam's spine. It wasn't a question but a statement.

"Well," Josephine sighed. "After all, everybody wants to rule the world. Don't they?'

* * *

**Yay! Isaac and Cora are back! I brought them back because I hated that Daniel Sharman left and that he went to work on The Originals while Adaline Kane went to work on the CW for Reign. What is it with the CW taking our Teen Wolf actors? First, Jackson, then Cora and then Isaac. Ugh. **

**I apologize for not posting this eariler but I wanted to make this longer for you guys. **

**On the bright side, since I've been working on a special treat for you guys, I've made two trailers for this fanfic! Just go on my profile and check it out and click on those links! Can you tell me what you thought about in the Youtube comments or leave a review here? Because I would really like to know how I did with my editing and the voiceovers.**

**Replies to comments:**

_**YMCMBYoungin13: Aw, thank you! I hope you will like their relationship because its gonna be a slow burn.**_

**The answer to the question in the previous chapter is: The man is the son.**

**Question of the Day:**

**_What is greater than God,_**  
**_more evil than the devil,_**  
**_the poor have it,_**  
**_the rich need it, _**

**_and if you eat it, you'll die?_**

**Special thanks to: ****mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13**


	4. The Waiting Game

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter IV**

_**The Waiting Game**_

**_oOo_**

_**"I wish I was in love but I don't wanna cause any pain**_

_**And if I'm feeling like I'm even, we've got nothing to gain . . ."**_

_**\- BANKS**_

_**"The Waiting Game"**_

**_oOo_**

* * *

_It was dark._

_Liam knew he was in a different place. He could feel it, deep down in his bones. He couldn't explain it but everything felt dreamlike. It didn't feel real._

_He couldn't see._

_Where are you?_

_Liam turned, squinting his eyes, trying to make out something from the heavy fog. There were faint outline of trees all around him, mist engulfing around where he was standing._

_C'mon! Figure out where the hell you are!_

_"Liam?"_

_His name came from behind him somewhere and it seemed to echo distortedly in his ears. It was eerie. He turned. "Hello?"_

_"Liam?" It sounded like Josephine's voice, but he wasn't entirely sure. Then it was Scott's voice. Stiles'. Lydia's. Kira's. Derek's. His mother's. His stepfather's._

_"Liam?" The voices whispered his name again. Liam spun around, searching for the source. "Liam? LIAM!"_

_His name rose in their voices, becoming louder and louder, and then it was all of their voices yelling or whispering or screeching his name, their voices overlapping each others._

_"Ahh!" His body jerked out from underneath him as his knees gave away, hitting the dirt below him. He screamed in pain, trying to block out the voices. "God! Eeugh!"_

_He clenched his teeth together, shutting his eyes as he covered his ears. "Ahh!"_

_Then, the voices stopped abruptly when Liam thought his head was going to explode from the pain that the voices were causing, slowly and hesitantly uncovering his ears._

_One final voice seeped into the sudden quietness and Liam heard: "Kill him."_

Liam's eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly. People around him kept giving him weird looks and he glanced down, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Liam came to the conclusion that he must've had another vision.

_Well, that's embarrassing._

While glancing down, he then noticed his palms were streaked with his own blood._ What's up with me stabbing my own hands?_ Liam shook his head to himself in disbelief. _Ugh. Great. Now, how am I gonna explain this to Coach? "Oh, yeah, Coach? My hands are bleeding because I stabbed myself with my own claws while I was having another freaky vision! Can I go to the bathroom?"_

Liam wished that sometimes that blood would vanish when the healing process started. It was difficult to explain how there was blood when there was no wound to be found. He could say that it was leftover paint or something equally stupid like that. He honestly wasn't very good at making excuses, even if his life depended on it.

"Liam."

The young werewolf glanced up, startled, nearly jumping out of his seat. He forced himself to remain calm while Coach Finstock glanced suspiciously at Liam and his bloody human coach reeked of alcohol he'd probably been drinking during class. Liam should've smelled it but he didn't. And he should've heard him coming up from behind too. Stupid vision. Maybe it blocked all his senses when he was under.

Still glancing suspiciously at the young werewolf, Bobby Finstock finally said in a surprisingly, almost normal-ish voice, "Go to the nurse and go get your hands fixed. We can't have you _not_ playing on the field next week, don't we? You hear me, Dunbar? Its like having a delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken without the meat, you hear?"

"Uh-huh," Liam uttered,confused, wondering what the hell a chicken breast had to do with lacrosse. Leaving the room, he heard the frantic scrambling of his classmates and their equally frantic scribbling pencils as they rushed to get their worksheets finished on time and with Mason cursing under his breath.

Walking down the hallway to the bathroom (and not the nurse's - for obvious reasons), Liam's brain scrambled around, trying to recall what had happened previously before the Attack of the Vision.

His life was becoming an freaking horror movie as if that wasn't enough. Granted, an insane version of it, unlike the one he had now, which he liked. Most of the time.

He remembered that he had gotten himself up for school, eaten some breakfast upon his step-father's arrival, and in between 6th and 7th period, running into Stiles and Lydia. They were using their study hall period to go over to Deaton's clinic for whatever reason. Remembering going into Coach's class where he'd been zoning out listening to Coach rambling on about the difference between an alpaca and a llama when shortly, therefore after, he must have had the vision.

He quickly darted into the bathroom, washing his blood off of his hands, watching as the clear water from the faucet wiped it into the drain. He took a deep breath, hands gripping the edge of the sink he was leaning against and glanced at his reflection.

"Get a hold of yourself, Liam. You're gonna be okay. The sun, the moon, and the truth."

He repeated this a couple of more times before he met his eyes in the mirror, watching in horror - barely registering as they turned golden without his permission before fading into his blue color before they eventually turned into a milky-white. He stared in horror when he finally realized what was happening, when his hand curled into a fist and smashed the mirror in front of him into pieces with one hit.

His first thought out of all things was incredibly stupid. He'd complained, _Oh, c'mon! I just cleaned that!_ to which a male voice inside his head replied, _Too bad. _

The freaking out part came a split second too late. He tried to pull himself away from the mirror. But his body stayed in place and Liam felt a smirk spread across his face. He knew that he wasn't doing it and then Liam suddenly got hit with a wave of drowsiness. He tried to keep himself awake and alert, but another part of his mind was whispering to him, _What's wrong with taking a little nap?_ He knew that it would be wrong to do it even though he was tempted to. But he had to stay awake. This . . . person or ghost or demon or whatever was possessing him and he wasn't about to go down without a fight. Who knew what they could do his body while he was gone? This being inside of him was sure to wreck havoc and chaos around Beacon Hills or worse, would hurt his friends, like it had done previously with Stiles and Lydia. He _had_ to warn the others. He _had_ to protect his pack. Liam _had_ to stick around to figure out who this possessor was.

One thing that he noticed was that he could still see, which meant that he still had the ability to pay attention to whatever his possessor was going to do next.

Hopefully.

Then a dreaded thought came to him: what if this whole seeing thing was only temporary and afterwards, when they were done, whoever was possessing him would take over his body completely until Liam wouldn't be able to hold on anymore? This sent a jolt of fear down his spine and he went into action.

_C'mon! You gotta stay awake!_ Liam started throwing random thoughts around to keep mind alert, trying to ignore the drowsiness that was slowly overwhelming him, also purposely ignoring the fact that whoever was possessing him could hear everything he was thinking right in that moment._ Hey, hey, you know what you can do to this guy when you get out of this?! You can nom on this sonofabitch on a rabbit sandwich! Yeah! Or you can get Stiles' bat and beat the shit outta this "so-called" messenger! Yeah! Hey, whoever's in here BETTER GET OUT RIGHT NOW OR I WILL KILL YOU._

There was silence for a short minute before the voice snorted in disbelief and answered aloud in Liam's voice, "I'd like to see you try, Dunbar."

Liam growled sluggishly in reply, failing at being menacing, while his thoughts began to jumble together, unable to correctly form coherent sentences.

It felt like his mind was going blank and all that he wanted to do was sleep.

_A little sleep never hurt anybody, has it? You'll be fine . . ._

Liam's vision wavered, then began to slowly plunge into darkness . . .

_Don't -!_

**_oOo_**

_"- Don't you die on us, Liam!"_

_He was met with a harsh, bright white light that illuminated his entire face, staring into its beauty, its warmth. It was calling him, beckoning him forward._

_I know you're still in there!_

_"Go home, Liam."_

_He wanted desperately to turn around, to apologize, but then he'd be tempted to bring them too. But they wouldn't going to allow that, even when that's what they'd been longing for._

_"I'll come back," he promised._

_He heard a sniff from behind and then a choked up chuckle. "You won't. Not for a while, at least. That we can promise. Go home to our pack, Liam. Save our home and our family."_

_The light became brighter and brighter and opening his mouth to release one last apology, he raised his hand to shield his eyes -_

**_oOo_**

Bolting upright, Liam propped himself up, rolling immediately onto his side, his stomach as he did so, thick, black liquid spewing out of his mouth, sharp pain spreading throughout his body. The black substance tasted like tar, although he wasn't sure because he'd never tasted tar before in his life. He watched in pain as the black liquid from inside his mouth - his lungs - dribbled onto the white floor below as he tried to cough the remainder of it up. A hand was on his back, patting against it a little roughly and then, another hand was around his wrist and Liam looked up to see Scott, crimson eyes blazing -

The pain stopped as the coughing died away and then he was breathing normally again. The Beta carefully sat up straight while Scott had let go of his wrist and Liam was now slowly scanning his surroundings, trying to make sense to where he was at, while his brain complained that it was still feeling like it was stuffed full of cotton.

His head was pounding as he took the place in, recognizing that he was in Deaton's veterinarian clinic, sitting on the metal table he'd been on last time. When he'd gotten poisoned with wolfsbane (courtesy of supernatural assassin/murderer/friend/douchebag Garrett) and Deaton had to cut his chest open with a knife, to let his chest fart the wolfsbane out.

Nonetheless, no matter how hilarious that might've sounded, it hadn't been a pretty sight to see. And this whole puking black goo thing was no better.

"Liam?" Scott was looking worried, the tone of his voice serious, Alpha-like.

Liam realized that everyone else was there, including Deputy Parrish.

"Yeah, its me," he managed.

"You sure 'bout that?" Stiles retorted instantly and he sounded a little angry.

Liam turned to Stiles, opening his mouth to explain when he stopped short. Stiles' right arm was held up in a white makeshift sling, his arm seemingly appearing a little bent out of shape. Liam could smell the faintest scent of the human's blood, slowly gathering underneath the sling. Liam glanced to the strawberry-blonde girl next to him, seeing that Lydia had a medium-sized jagged cut on her cheek, her green eyes sharp and wide with fear, while Kira clutched her katana to her chest, holding it tight. Deputy Parrish, who was also standing next to the fox, was tense, hand reaching for the gun that was on his holster, like he was threatening to use it. Movement shifted from behind him and Liam saw Deaton. He quickly turned back to Scott.

"Scott, whatever I did, that wasn't me," Liam stated.

"Liam . . ." Scott said, taking a small step forward. "We know. And we want this to know that it wasn't your fault."

Glancing toward the others, he muttered sarcastically, "Great. What . . . the hell did I do?"

"Well, for starters, you broke my arm -" Stiles immediately said.

"Wow. You got straight to the point, Stilinski," Liam retorted without meaning to. "Way to go."

Stiles glared at Liam. "I'm not in the mood, Dunbar."

"Guys, stop," ordered Scott. "Stiles, just tell him what happened."

Stiles sighed. "Scott, can't you do that whole stick-your-claws-in-your-neck thing that you did before with me and Lydia with the Nogitsune?"

"I suppose I can try -" The True Alpha began, then stiffened.

Liam frowned as Scott headed toward him in a briskly manner. As he leaned back, Scott grabbed his chin forcefully and then jammed his claws into the back of Liam's neck. Liam screamed in pain. Quick flashes of images ripped through his mind.

He was in a classroom, Scott sitting in the desk next to him. Then, it was like Liam was in Scott's mind. Like he _was_ Scott in one of his memories. Liam understood he _was_ going to be Scott McCall for the time being.

_oOo_

In Scott's memory, Mr. Yukimura, Kira's father, was in front of him, mouth moving and opening, but no sounds were coming out.

A metallic screeching sound entered his ears. Scott/Liam immediately grimaced in pain and covered his ears.

"Scott, you okay?"

He glanced toward Stiles who was sitting across from him and nodded. "I'm sure it was nothing."

Scott wondered what the noise had been. He was extremely worried, knowing that his friends and family were in danger from being possessed by a spirit. He didn't want a repeat of the Nogitsune. But he'd noticed that it seemed to have a grudge against Liam or that's what it seemed like. He was concerned about the young werewolf. Just when everything would be all right again, it'd all go downhill. Liam would be fine and then he would snap for no reason and -

"Stilinski!"

Scott frowned. It sounded like Liam's voice. Mr. Yukimura stopped talking, looking around like he was doubting what he'd heard. Everybody had heard it.

Stiles glanced to Scott for no confirmation, looking confused."Is that -?"

"Yo, Stilinski!"

"Yup. It's definitely Liam."

Scott bolted out of his seat with Stiles following close behind.

The two rushed into the hallway, looking for the young werewolf, but he was nowhere to be found. As Scott went down the hallway, he noticed five long scratches engraved on the lockers. That must've been what the noise was.

"Get your ass out here! Stilinski! McCall! I know you can hear me!" Liam was screaming at the top of his lungs when Scott and Stiles finally realized he was not in the building. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

When they went outside, they saw Liam standing next to Stiles' Jeep, one long silver crowbar in hand. He was pacing back and forth, impatiently. He stopped when he saw them and smiled smugly.

"Finally," Liam said, drawing out the last syllable with a small hiss. Scott was taken aback when he saw that his Beta had milky-white look glazed over his eyes. "Took you long enough." Without warning, Liam started to smash the crowbar into the Jeep's door.

"No!" Stiles cried out, starting forward to his precious Jeep when Scott stuck out his arm to stop him. The growing crowd of classmates behind them whooped excitedly, ready to see a fight.

"Don't. He's possessed." Scott kept his voice low.

Stiles swore underneath his breath. "Great. And what are we going to do now? He's destroying my Baby!"

Ignoring this, Liam continued to smash in the door, then moved on toward the windshield, breaking the glass.

"Liam, stop it!" Scott commanded, letting his eyes go red. He saw Liam freeze in mid-air swing and slowly lower the crowbar. The young werewolf turned, hesitantly.

His eyes were indeed milky-white, like Scott had suspected. Opening his mouth, Liam rasped out in his voice, "It's not my fault. This is my only ticket out of here, McCall. You wouldn't understand."

"Whoever you are, we can help you," Scott reasoned softly and determinedly, letting his eyes fade back to his normal. "We can help you. Just let Liam go."

Liam let out a tiny scoff and a bitter laugh. "And look how well that worked out last time."

Scott only stared, speechless. He was figuring out what he had to do next. This wasn't working.

"None of you understand."

Scott watched as Liam dropped the crowbar, clattering to the ground.

Liam cracked his neck side to side. He glared toward Scott and Stiles, suddenly shouting, "None of you understand! _You're ruining everything!"_

He body-slammed into Scott, knocking him off his feet with surprising strength, landing a hard punch on the Alpha's face. Stiles was trying to tug him off, but it was no use. Liam sent him staggering back straight into the crowd. Mason, who was standing in front, helped Stiles back to his feet. Together, with effort, they both dragged a writhing Liam off of Scott.

"What's wrong with you?!" Mason was shouting toward Liam. Liam glared toward his best friend, giving a low growl, his eyes wild and unfocused. Then, Scott watched as he stood up as Liam's eyes cleared when he blinked, squeezing his eyes shut, breathing heavily.

Coach Finstock decided to take this appropriate moment to cut in. Meanwhile, in the whole time, he'd been betting with Greenberg on the winner of the fight, even though Scott and Stiles were "like sons to me." Coach shouted, "Hey, what's going on here?"

He paused, seeing Scott, Stiles, Liam, and Mason. He turned back to the crowd and yelled, "All of you back to class! There's nothing to see here, except for these idjits!"

As the grumbling and dispersing crowd slowly left, returning back to their classrooms, Bobby Finstock faced the four teenagers. "Well?" he demanded, waiting for a answer.

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He opened his mouth to talk. "Well -"

Coach blew the whistle around his neck. "Save it, Bilinski!"

"Uh. Actually, it's -"

Coach blew again. _Wheet!_

"Look, if you'd just -"

_Wheet!_

"Coach -"

_Wheet! Wheet! Wheet!_

"Just -"

_Wheet!_ Coach laughed at the boy's face, as he blew his whistle again, longer and harder until his face turned red. But Stiles looked determined to finish his sentence, though. He wasn't going to let this happen again. Last time, they'd been on a bus on the way to a haunted motel and Coach had ridiculed him until Stiles had given up and went back to his seat. There was no way he was going to let this happen again. Scott could sense anger and frustration rolling off the human boy's scent.

"Would you just listen?!" Stiles finally exploded, reaching out and yanking the whistle from Coach's neck. He tossed the whistle to the side and proceeded to talk. Coach stared in surprise, mouth slightly agape.

"Whatever happened here today was not Liam's fault, okay?"

Coach looked toward Liam after taking his eyes off Stiles. "That true, Dunbar?"

Liam nodded. "I forgot to take my meds today. That's why I was . . . off. Sorry, Coach. I'll pay for this, I swear."

"Better," Stiles muttered under his breath while Liam shot him a look.

"McCall?" Coach looked toward the former lacrosse captain for confirmation.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. That's what happened," Scott lied, stuttering a bit.

Coach stared at the four boys in front of him. Still glancing suspiciously, he said, "All right. But you three need to report to detention tomorrow after school - not you, Mason. I'm so utterly and _profoundly_ disappointed in all of you. And Stilinski, you're buying me another whistle." And with that, Coach retreated back into the building.

"That was weird," Stiles said. "Shouldn't he be, like screaming at us or something?"

"Yeah," Scott agreed. "That was so . . . _not_ like Coach, at all. Mason, go back to class. We're taking Liam to the hospital."

Mason studied Liam, Stiles, and Scott. Scott knew that Mason was getting curious and suspicious about everything that had been happening. He didn't know whether Liam's new senior friends were trustworthy or not. They kept dragging Liam off at weird times during the day in school or he'd wouldn't show up until the next day and he wouldn't talk about it. It was just like his boyfriend, Brett Talbot. But Mason respected his friend's privacy, just like he'd respected his own. Mason figured that Liam would be ready to talk about it whenever he was ready.

Mason sighed. "Be safe. See you tomorrow, I guess."

The memory changed abruptly.

Liam was just Liam now.

He realized that this new memory must've been when he was still possessed and the bastard inside of him was pretending to be him, because he didn't remember this at all.

It was raining and he was standing outside of Deaton's clinic. Scott and Stiles were walking in front of him, about to enter through the clinic door, when all of a sudden, he'd grabbed the True Alpha's shoulder for no particular reason and shoved Scott to the side. Stiles gave a shout of surprise and jumped back to avoid the young werewolf's claws.

Liam turned on the human, watching as Stiles turned for the door, yelling for Deaton. Stiles only managed to grab the handle, twisting it halfway before Liam grabbed the back of his shirt, yanking him backwards harshly, ripping Stiles' shirt in the process. Stiles let out a pained "Oof," as then he scrambled to his feet, heading toward the clinic door once more. Scott was rousing, shaking his head groggily when he got up. Liam was stronger than him at the moment, probably thanks to the possessor inside of him. The True Alpha had nearly been knocked unconscious when he'd collided with the pavement below him.

Liam reached for the metal stick that was lying on the ground and threw at Stiles' retreating back. The sharpened point at the end of the metal object pierced Stiles' shoulder, going through the bone as blood began to pool out. The human gave another scream of pain, this one full of pure agony, crashing down to the ground on his knees as he did so. Scott snapped his head to his best friend's direction upon hearing what had happened. The True Alpha immediately rushed to his friend's aid, yanking out the metal stick, siphoning Stiles' pain.

The clinic door swung open to reveal Deaton, holding a syringe in one hand. Deaton made a move toward Liam, but Liam dodged the emissary's aim, knocking the syringe out of his grasp and shoved Deaton back against the door. Stiles, with his good arm and hand, managed to grab ahold of the fallen syringe while he struggled to his feet. The young werewolf growled in anger when he saw what was in the human's hand, preparing himself to attack, but Stiles lunged first. impossibly, the erratic human that couldn't stand or sit still, somehow managed to inject the substance inside of the syringe into Liam's chest - but not before Liam grabbed his arm and twisted it back hard enough. An audible cracking sound was heard and a pained moan escaped Stiles' mouth.

_"Get him inside the clinic!"_ Scott was shouting. Whether he was talking about Stiles or Liam, he did not know because Liam's senses were dulling, fading to black -

**_oOo_**

_"Liam!"_

A sharp pain streaked from behind the back of his neck and he snapped back to reality. In front of him, he saw Scott being held back by Stiles and Deaton, while Parrish had his gun drawn. He was pointing it at Scott and Lydia and Kira were trying to convince him that he was possessed. Scott was breathing heavily, squeezing his eyes shut. His body relaxed and his eyes snapped open instantly, the color of dark brown. Stiles hesitated before asking, "Scott?"

"Yeah. It's me. And before you ask, you were the one that wanted to find Laura Hale's body that night, not me."

Stiles let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that, Scott."

Scott was quiet when he looked down at his hand, seeing his bloodied claws. He gave an audible swallow. Glancing up, he met Liam's gaze.

"Liam . . . I'm sorry for whatever I did."

Liam rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, wincing at an invisible pain that wasn't there. It was healing, he knew, and he was grateful for that. "It wasn't you, Scott. Don't beat yourself over it. But I think . . . whoever it was . . . was trying to help me remember what happened to me when I was . . . possessed."

Scott frowned. "Really?"

He gave a small shrug, not sure how to explain. "I saw what happened at school and what I - _he_ did and . . ." Liam trailed off, thinking about the memories he'd been shown. Something didn't seem to add up. "I remember coming here and Stiles putting something into me from a syringe but . . . It doesn't explain why Lydia has a cut on her cheek and why everyone else -" He stopped talking, noticing Scott and Stiles exchanging a look. so he must've been right. Something else had happened after he was injected with that syringe.

"What is it?" asked Liam. He was nervous, because there _had_ to been a reason why that they were keeping something from him. Something that they didn't want him to know. Cursing inside of his mind, Liam thought he knew the reason why. He must've done something really horrible if they didn't want to tell him what he had done - or rather what the spirit inside of him had done.

"Liam," Scott exhaled slowly. He began to speak in a tone that Liam didn't like.

Yup. He definitely screwed up this time.

"We brought you in here to get the wolfsbane out of you . . . and you . . . you . . . sort of died."

". . . What?" Liam dead-panned.

"Well, it didn't happen exactly like that," Stiles interrupted. He shifted slightly in his spot by Lydia, leaning against her for support. "You were conscious and we thought we finally had you back but it turned out to be another trick. And then you died. For like a second."

"What?" Liam repeated, an incredulous tone creeping in his voice. He had . . . died? Which made absolutely no sense. Then he remembered the dream he had had before he woke up. A bright light. A voice telling him he should go home.

The thought of him dying finally sunk in. He took another minute to really process it.

He had died. But he'd survived.

Somehow.

Maybe he was meant to live. Maybe he was meant to keep living until he found his purpose, which for all he knew right now, was to help Josephine find her killer.

Liam sucked in a slightly, deep, quivering breath, closing his eyes, resting his head in his useless hands. He wondered how he had let the spirit gain control of his body so quickly. He had not fought as hard as he wanted to and he had failed. His friends were hurt because of him. This was all his fault. If he just never had that stupid dream or vision . . .

The globe of the world was spinning and wobbling, being set in motion by an invisible finger. The day had gotten away from Liam again and he could see that it was night. From the window in Deaton's clinic, he watched as the moon ducked behind a thin cloak of grey clouds as it hid its face for grief.

"The sun. The moon. The truth," he whispered softly to himself. He glanced down, inspecting his bare chest, noticing a scar that still had faded yet. A quick flashback revealed that he - or rather the spirit inside of him - had injected Liam's body with a dose of wolfsbane. The spirit had done it after it had possessed and taken Liam over. The werewolf figured that the syringe that Deaton had had (and what Stiles had injected him with) had been the antidote to the wolfsbane inside of him. The result of the wolfsbane inside of him must've been what had him vomiting up that black goo.

"Do you want to go home?" Deaton was asking. Liam turned, paying attention to the emissary.

Turning to the others, he said aloud, "This is all happening because of me. No matter what you guys tell me, this all started because of me. If I just never had that vision -"

"Liam," Deaton said back in a gentle voice. "This is not because of you. This is another being at hand that is trying to make your lives hell. This is not your fault."

If Deaton was trying to be encouraging in his usual cryptic way, Liam didn't feel like it was working. "But it is," Liam countered quietly."Whoever this spirit is, it won't stop until it gets whatever it wants from us. And Josephine, she's here because of me - somehow. I'm connected to her in some way and I'm not sure if I want any part of it. I know that it means that we can find who her killer is . . . but I'm just worried that I'll screw everything up again and that everything will all go to hell from there. What use am I if I can't keep controlling myself anymore?"

"My sister says "If you're going through hell, keep going." We can get through this, Liam. It's just a matter of time and everything will fall into place, sooner or later. Everything will make sense even if you don't believe it right now."

The others were standing right behind him, unsure what to say. Liam could smell the uncomfortable silence in the room. They had tried before, while he had gotten himself possessed by that damn spirit, trying to help him regain control and look where that had gotten them. Everything was a mess; people were being murdered left and right, whether there was a supernatural force behind it or not. Liam tugged on his shirt which was lying near him, planting his feet on the cool floor. He could hear the Pack calling after him when he left through the door.

_If you're going through hell, keep going._

_Keep going._

_Going through hell . . ._

One foot slid in front of the other, thunder and lightning crashing through the sky, drenching Liam as it plastered his hair to his wet forehead.

Next thing he knew, he was home. He trudged up the stairs in his house, passing quietly by his step-father's room, knowing full well that he was asleep. Sitting on the edge of his bed, Liam did not bother to turn on the light or seek the comfort of his bed; he stared at the wall in front of him, waiting, wishing for something to happen. A thought came to his mind, but he pushed it away, chiding himself that it was stupid, a stupid, stupid idea. But it seemed like he had no choice and instead of taking the front door, he climbed out of his window, getting doused with rain once more.

He made his way to the front door of the place he'd been seeking. Hesitating, he raised his hand to knock. When he received no answer, Liam found that the door was unlocked and pushed it open. Inside, it was dark, except for a single night light plugged in the corner of the living room.

He found Josephine sitting on the floor, legs tucked underneath her, in front of the McCalls' low coffee table. a white box laid on top of the table and papers had been scattered about, just some old-faded photographs and old reports he would've thought nothing about. He stood there for a minute. He made no sound and Josephine made no move that she had even heard Liam enter. Perhaps she did not even know he was there in the first place and was too preoccupied to answer.

Finally, when the silence was too heavy to bear, it was her who opened her mouth and spoke first.

"Apparently," she said softly, but to Liam, her voice sounded like a shout. his sensitive hearing made it easy to hear her over the rain. "The police were completely baffled by my murder." A faintest hint of an accent pushed through and Liam wondered how he had never noticed it before. He was unsure of what to say, so he let her keep talking while he tried to figure it out.

"They hardly questioned anybody, said that they had no suspects. Gossips about whether it was a secret lover or a betrayal from my mother and father. _Ha!_" Josephine turned her body slightly. Liam saw a brittle, yellowed old newspaper in her hands. "My obituary," she explained.

He blurted out, "You weren't meant to see that." He honestly did not know whether Melissa had intended to leave the box out for Josephine to find or had just forgotten to take the box back to the morgue. He guessed that she just hadn't had the time to take it back yet. His werewolf vision heightened the newspaper and he could read the fine print - literally.

It read: _Josephine Laddens, beloved daughter of Arthur, was laid to rest Thursday in Beacon Hills Cemetery._ There was a picture next to her obituary, one of the living girl in front of him, eyes bright and curious, long curly hair and her dark skin.

Standing slowly to her feet, Josephine turned. The ancient newspaper in her hand fluttered silently to the floor when she let it go.

"I . . . am cursed," she spoke finally. "Otherwise, I would not be here right now. I've always believed that magic was just make-believe and superstition, old curses brought upon the tongues of my ancestors. But now I've come to believe that they're cursing me to this lifestyle because I have wronged them somehow. I am being punished. Punished to be a werewolf for the course of my new life in this lifetime. That's why I have been brought back. I'm sure of it." A disbelieving smile and laugh escaped. "And - and you're cursed too. Plagued with this a - _ability_ to see the details of my mur - _death_, over and over and over again. Can't you see? We . . . _are cursed._"

Liam ran a hand through his damp hair, a slight cough forcing its way out. Light flooded the living room as he switched a nearby lamp on. The rain had ceased sometime during Josephine's speech. Her eyes were sad and anger and fear filled them. He smelt it on her scent.

She was breaking.

No, scratch that.

She'd already broke. Here she was, standing here in front of him, tears streaked on her cheeks and it should've been realized sooner.

How could Liam not see it before? Did they really expect her to be okay with being thrown into the modern world after 74 years and expect her to adjust this quickly? Liam studied her body language: the way she held her arms close to her chest, the way her eyes darted left and right at every new sound that passed by the McCalls' house in the evening, the dark circles lingering underneath.

She wasn't okay. Liam didn't need to ask that. She was perhaps angry and terrified at them for doing all of this to her, throwing all these new information toward her. Her parents' deaths, her death, the fact that she was now a supernatural creature, and the fact that someone or something was still running around amok - alive or dead - after murdering her.

He wondered why he had come, regretting his actions very much. He should've stayed with Scott and the others. He shouldn't have come at all.

Telling Josephine not to torture herself would probably make things worse. He felt horrible, guilt crashing into him, because it was his fault that she - No. _It wasn't me. I didn't kill her._

But he felt horrible for not realizing what she was going through sooner.

He wanted to make her forget everything for awhile, all the dark memories and thoughts that were swimming behind her eyes. Innocent once . . . and now she must've believed that she would never be innocent again. How was she suppose to let all the things she remembered and learned so far, let it go quickly?

"I - I should've have come at all," he stuttered. " I don't . . . "

Her eyes met his with an accusing and disbelieving look in them. He started to back up slowly, when his eyes landed on her ripped dress. A scream let loose. His body jerked out from underneath him, back arching.

_"You think you can hide from me?! I'm the one who says how. you. die."_

_Liam was running, panic and terror spreading throughout his whole being. But he had to keep running. Something was after him, something dark and dangerous and he wasn't sure if he wanted to meet whoever or whatever was chasing him. He tripped, landing hard on his elbow with a pained grunt. Scrambling to his feet, Liam's claws dug into the dirt underneath him. Breathing heavily, his canines slipped out, and he avoided slamming into the trees, leaping over fallen roots. Scanning his surroundings, it looked to Liam that he was in the forest, the same forest he had been in during his time at school. It looked different though, he noticed. Blackened and burnt like it had gone through a nuclear bomb._

_"Come out, come out wherever you are, my little wolf." The voice sounded too close for comfort and this sent chills down Liam's spine._

_"WHO ARE YOU?!" yelled Liam, knowing he was probably giving away his position. But he had to know._

_The air stilled around him and it felt like he was suffocating. He grasped his throat, desperate for fresh air, and collapsed backward, colliding against something in the process._

_It was the Nemeton. Still preserved like nothing had happened to it and Liam couldn't figure out why it was the only thing not burnt. He laid on top of it and tried to roll off, feeling like something terrible would happen to him if he didn't get off of it._

_He couldn't move._

_Above him, a figure materialized from darkness. Vision dimming, he only managed to make out that the figure was brandishing a long, thin pointy object before it swung in his direction._

A loud echoing scream ripped from his throat. "NO!"

Jerking upright, Liam placed a hand to his neck, fingers searching for a large, gaping bloody wound that was sure to pulse and burst out any minute now. Nothing happened. Terror still spread throughout his veins and the suffocating air wasn't fading away. Then slowly, it did and he gulped in the new fresh air greedily, longing to return back to breathing normally. It dawned on the young werewolf that Josephine was crouched next to him and was frowning in a way that he didn't like.

"What?"

She didn't speak and Liam wondered for a moment if she was ever going to.

"You said, "They are coming." Who are 'they?'"

Pushing a trembling hand through his hair, he breathed out shakily, "I don't know. I don't even remember saying that."

There was a quiet moment. Josephine kept staring at him, giving him a strange look.

"I think we all know that it would be best if we stayed away from each other," Josephine said coldly. She stood up and Liam propped himself up onto his elbows, watching her. He slowly struggled to his feet. "Obviously, your visions get worse when I'm around and yet . . . You still need me."

Josephine turned on her heel sharply. Making her way back to the low table, she began furiously cramming all of her evidence of her cold case back into the box. Slamming the lid shut, tight and secure, she whirled back around to face Liam. "I will help you. On one condition."

Liam swallowed. "All right," he replied after a second of hesitation. "Name it."

"You . . ." Josephine pointed her index finger toward him. There was a dark look in her eyes and yet, at the same time, her eyes were far, far away. "Liam Dunbar. I help you find the meaning of your visions and in the meantime, in exchange for this, you help me with my lycanism and find the person who murdered me. Like you said earlier, you believe that you're seeing everything from my killer's eyes, so he - whoever he is must still be alive. Once we find him . . ."

This wasn't going to end well, was it? Liam could practically see the wheels turning in her head and he wasn't sure if he was ready to hear her proposal.

Josephine wasted no time and the last of her words poured from her lips. "I want to exact my revenge and kill him."

* * *

**END.**

**I apologize to everyone that this is late, there are really no excuses, but I'm glad that people are reading this story! It looks like I will only be able to post once a month and I'm sorry if I got anyone's hopes up for a double update.**

**On another topic, did anyone see the teasers for Season 5? Of course you have! :) In my opinion, it looks scary! I mean, c'mon, the whole "Watch Your Pack" thing and "The Doctors Will See You Now." (P.S. I still maintain the fact that "Watch Your Pack" is Season 5's official tagline.) And Lydia! What's happening with our favorite Banshee? I swear, they better not torture her at Eichen House, and does anybody else think she kinda looks like Void? Is Void going to be back, because that'd be cool and then we could have Nogydia! Enough rambling from me. But yeah, what are your thoughts about Season 5?**

**Also, I have been thinking about taking a short break until Teen Wolf finally comes back on, to see if I can tie in my plot with S. 5's storyline. If all goes well, I will post the next chapter tying in with the premiere, "Creatures of the Night." But it may not be likely posted in June, but in July, due to a surgery I desperately need to have. (In case anyone's wondering, I basically have a tumor on my ovaries - not life-threatening - but I need to have it removed.)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will tell you that two more guests will show up in the later chapters. Any idea who they are? *hint* It's mentioned in the first chapter. ;P**

**EDIT (5/19/15): I remembered what I had to say: Don't hesitate to PM or review on my story. I really would like to know how I can grow as an author and improve my writing skills. If you see a slight error in character actions or if they become too OOC , please don't feel afraid to ask me to change some things and leave a suggestion. I want to bring my idea of _Teen Wolf_ to life for you. And if any way, Josephine becomes a Mary-Sue, stop me immediately. I would like a character who is flawed and isn't perfect and can be someone that you can relate to. Same goes for Liam, since this is in his point of view.**

** Thank you for reading this (and my long rambling) and I hope y'all have a great day/night.**

** There are the following people I thank so far:**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, and amaliesofie. **


	5. Creatures of the Night

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter V**

**_Creatures of the Night_**

**_oOo_**

_**"She would have been with us."**_

_**"She still is."**_

_**_**_**oOo_**

* * *

Liam raised his head, awake and alert from the dream - the vision - that had startled him.

_"I want to exact my revenge and kill him."_

Liam couldn't let that happen but he had agreed, only to the condition to help her be a werewolf. The rest . . . he would have to improvise, because he couldn't let Josephine murder anyone, even it was her killer.

He got to his feet, stretching his arms as he did so. He changed, dressing in a clean shirt and jeans, pulling on his shoes. He slipped out the back door, avoiding seeing his stepfather and jogged down the quiet street. Coming to a rest at Scott's house, Liam paused to even out his breathing.

Liam could've kept running for miles even, but it was something out of habit. He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't human anymore. Glancing up at the McCalls' two-story house, eyes wandering over the windows, wondering if anybody else was getting a decent amount of sleep.

He as sure as hell wasn't.

Then he continued with his run, making his way to Deaton's clinic.

He didn't care what time it was or why he was there in the first place. He just wanted to go someplace. Deaton apparently never slept because when Liam arrived, the front door was unlocked, while a lamp shone behind it, reflecting in the glass panels.

"Liam," Deaton said without looking up. "How can I help you tonight?"

Shaking his head uncertainly, Liam fumbled for words. "I don't know. I just . . . needed to go somewhere." He gave a heavy sigh, wiping his hand down his face, fingers rubbing the dark circles underneath his eyes.

"Can't sleep?" Deaton glanced up, putting the book in his hands aside, placing it on the counter.

"No. I thought it would go away since she's been here, but they just keep on getting worse and worse. I'm at that point in my mind where I'm worried that I'm gonna snap again and lose control. I can't let this happen again. Not again. Not after what happened last time. There's gotta be something you can do."

"I wish I could, Liam," Deaton gave him a short, wistful smile. "I could prescribe you some sleeping pills if you would like."

Liam shook his head. "No."

Deaton nodded in understanding. "I see. What was your dream about this time? The Nemeton again?"

"Yes. That same dream. Me getting killed while someone or something comes out of the darkness and well . . . You know."

Deaton was silent for a minute. "I see," he repeated, almost to himself.

Liam decided to switch the topic, desperate to forget the dream. "Have you . . . found a way for us to stop getting possessed yet?"

"I'm looking, Liam -"

_"Well, you're not looking hard enough!" _Liam suddenly shouted, then regretted the words that had just come out of his mouth. He sat down on a nearby chair. "I'm sorry. Look. I'm just . . . worried that whatever happens next, it'll be worse than before. Next time, it might be me or Scott or Lydia or Stiles that loses control and - and we might accidentally kill someone while being possessed. I can't let anyone have that."

"I'm looking, Liam. Marin is, too. Melissa and John and Jordan are all helping out as best as they can, too. We are going to figure this out."

"What - what about the murders? Or - or the sacrifices? Or whatever you want to call them? What are we going to do about them? How are we going to deal that _and _deal with this spirit or whatever the hell it is?"

"About the spirit, there's nothing I can do about that right now. But the murders, from what the others have told me, I have concluded it to be the Rites of Nine."

"The Rites of Nine?" Liam asked, confused.

"Known as the _Circle of Nines. _It's believed to be said that if you sacrifice nine individuals of absolute pure power or magic, you would be more powerful than any Emissary or Darach that stood before you."

"And how do you know if it's the Rites of Nine?" Liam was still confused, trying to wrap his head around this new information.

"Because only seven bodies were found so far. Each body or vessel found consisted of a sigil carved on their foreheads," Deaton explained, looking troubled. He reached out and grabbed the book that had been lying on the counter, flipping to a page. Turning the book around so that Liam could read it, Deaton pointed at a picture in the corner. "This sigil allows an individual to harvest their powers."

"So. Are we dealing with a witch, or something like that?"

"Not quite. Isaac and Cora mentioned to me that nine bodies were found in the exact same manner when they stayed at their respective destinations."

"But if multiple people were committing them, wouldn't that mean that they _themselves _would get their powers?"

"Not exactly. Your spirit may have something to do with this, I believe. If a person was possessed, it wouldn't be them doing it. It's the spirit controlling every action, every move they make. Just like when you weren't yourself yesterday."

"So, the spirit would be the one taking everyone's power."

"Correct. They kept saying, 'The Darkness made me do it.' Which makes me believe that your spirit is connected somehow."

Liam heaved a deep sigh, trying to process everything Deaton had said so far.

He glanced up to see Deaton apparently studying him.

"In your dream, have you notice anything that shouldn't be there? Anything out of the ordinary besides everything else?"

Liam closed his eyes, thinking back, even though he didn't want to. But it was one step closer to getting rid of these stupid visions or dreams or whatever they were.

_A girl in a long red dress had her back towards him. Sobs echoed the space around him. He took a step toward her and she turned her head to the side. _

_It was Josephine. Their eyes met and she looked away, still sobbing quietly. Her shoulder shook and rattled, drawing the attention of Liam noticing a strange marking covering the back of her left shoulder._

_Her entire frame rippled and contorted as if it was bending out of reality or time and then she was facing him, a crestfallen look on her face. Slowly, she rose a finger to her lips and shook her head ever so slightly._

_Her facial expression changed immediately, eyes narrowing into angry slits, lips curved into a silent snarl, baring sharp teeth. She materialized in front of him so suddenly, Liam stumbled back in surprise but she grabbed ahold of his wrist._

_She was so, so close to him that they could've kissed. Liam was paralyzed, frozen in the spot he'd tried to escape from. He watched as a single claw sprouted out from the top of her index finger and lifted to connect with his forehead. He cried out in pain as the skin broke, blood trailing down, slipping into his eyes._

_She was carving something on his forehead and it hurt, it hurt so much. _

_Stop it! He wanted to scream and push her away. _

_The pain faded and Liam opened his eyes hesitatingly. Josephine was nowhere near him but instead, was standing a few feet away from where he was._

_Her arms were raised up to the sky as if she were embracing it. Her body suddenly erupted into flames, her head thrown back in a silent scream, hair floating around her like she was underwater. Tilting her head, her angry eyes glared into his._

_But they weren't just angry, Liam somehow realized. They were downright murderous, sporting nothing but bloodlust and evilness._

_The flames died down. The remainder of her arms - from her elbows to her fingers - were burnt horribly though as well as her legs and feet. Dark red veins glowed, illuminating from underneath her skin. She raised a closed hand to her lips and then slowly unfurled them, black dust flying toward him . . ._

_Liam raised his arms to shield himself, turning his head away while Lydia's shriek of death rang throughout the cold air -_

Liam turned his head back to face a worried looking Deaton. He lowered his arms, breathing heavily.

"What. Did. I. Do. Now?"

Deaton pushed the book in front of him closer and Liam saw on a blank space in his handwriting, the strange marking he'd seen on Josephine's shoulder in the vision.

"Do you know what this is?"

"No." Liam stared at it for a while before meeting Deaton's eyes. "Am I suppose to?"

"This . . . " Deaton continued, tapping his finger against the sketch Liam drew. "This . . . is a tatau."

Liam gave him a "What the hell are you talking about?" look.

"T-A-T-A-U. This, to my knowledge, symbolizes the past and the future in Samoan. Where'd you see this?"

Liam explained as best as he could.

"It's possible that she may have this tatau, resulting in linking both of you together. But you'd have to have the same tatau. And you don't. Do you?"

"Nope. Not unless the spirit put it on me when . . . I was occupied." Liam pulled up his shirt to show Deaton. Liam let his shirt fall back down. "And I've never even seen this thing on her shoulder in real life so . . ."

The Druid was unnaturally quiet for a while and Liam wondered if he had said something wrong.

"Deaton?" he prodded.

"Liam, you still have those books I lended you? Good. Read through them again and find out what you can about the Rites of Nine."

"But . . . I thought we were talking about the tatau."

"Another time. You need to sleep. It's a school night and your father won't be very pleased with you if he finds out why you were here so late."

Liam hung his shoulders in defeat. "Yeah. I guess so . . ."

Deaton dropped Liam off at his house. Liam mustered a small 'Thank you' before shutting the car passenger door quietly and shuffling inside the house.

Deaton waited a bit when he saw that Scott McCall's youngest Beta had made it safely inside his home, and took off, pulling out his cellphone as he drove.

The ringing phone finally picked up and a familiar voice came on the line.

"Alan."

"Marin. It's me," Deaton explained to his sister. "He had another vision. We were right. They're coming."

**_oOo_**

_"The Rites of Nine, also known as the Circle of Nines, is believed to be the source of untapped, pure magic or power where an individual performs an specific ritual with this sigil carved on the victim's forehead. This allows the individual to harvest and absorb the victim's powers. To complete the ritual, you must have nine separate individuals consisting of unawakened magic or power, one of each species. If achieved, this will be allowed to create a new world order to the individual's choosing."_

Liam closed the book he'd been reading and shoved it aside, sending it flying off his desk. He cursed at his stupidity and bent to pick it up. He listened for the sounds of his father stirring awake but nothing happened and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

The book wasn't telling him anything that he didn't already know from Deaton.

He growled in frustration. "Tell me something that I don't know!" he hissed.

His eyelids began to droop.

_No. C'mon. Stay awake._

How long had it been since he slept properly?

_Okay. Maybe just a little nap, _he thought to himself. His eyelids felt heavier and heavier until they eventually closed and Liam fell asleep at his desk.

_Briiiinnngg!_

"What the -"

Liam sat upright at the sudden shrill of his alarm clock, causing him to momentarily fall out of his chair. He hit the ground, landing on his back. "Ow," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

He rested his head on the floor, throwing an arm over his eyes as he forced himself to get ready for school. He threw on a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans before throwing his blue jacket hoodie over it.

At least he remembered to charge his phone last night because today he was going to need it.

There was another full moon tonight.

If Liam was honest to himself, the rest of the day was a blur. Liam had spent it pouring over the books Deaton had given him, hoping to find something useful that could relate to him having visions. Nothing came up. It also didn't help with the fact he was going to have to deal with his Shifting later in the evening.

Next thing he knew, it was dark. Dark ominous clouds were rolling in and Liam didn't like it one bit.

But he didn't think too much of it when Scott and Stiles chained and handcuffed him up against a tree.

Liam closed his eyes, rest his head against the bark as he listened to them talk. The moon was calling to him and he dug his fingers into his palms, breaking the skin as his claws protruded from his fingers.

Blood trailed down. Liam mouthed his mantra to himself as long as he could.

_What three things cannot long be hidden?_

_The sun. The moon. The truth._

Liam opened his eyes when he felt himself calm down a little, fingers relaxing.

" . . . all right?" Stiles was asking. "You're starting to feel it?"

"No," Scott replied as he glanced up at the full moon above them. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

_Yeah. About what, Scott? _Liam thought. He'd been listening to them talk about college and where they were planning to stay at.

"Senior year."

"Senior year. Come on, that's, that's . . . That's nothing. That's going to be easy."

"It's more like something Deaton told me once. You ever hear of regression to the mean?"

"No," Stiles replied for the both of them. "I don't think so."

"It was his way of saying that life can't ever be all bad or all good. You know, things have to come back to the middle. So, think about the last few months. Things have been good, right?"

Well, a good first 3 months before Liam screwed everything up after that point with his stupid visions.

"But not amazing."

"Yeah, but no one's tried to kill us in six months either."

That was true, too. Both Lydia and Stiles hadn't been themselves when they were possessed and so had Liam. Okay, so maybe he was lying to himself a little.

"Right. We've been pretty much in the middle for a while," Scott continued, "Which means at some point, the scale has to tip one way or the other. Things are going to get really good again . . ."

"Or really bad," Stiles finished. There was a short pause for a while before the crackling of thunder interrupted it. "Think it's been long enough?"

"Yes!" Liam shouted back at them in annoyance.

"Hey. Trying to have an adult conversation over here," Stiles told him.

"All right," Liam said pointedly. "You're two years older than me. And I'm fine. Just let me go."

Scott looked at him. "It's not that we don't trust you. It's just that I don't trust you. But after that last full moon . . ."

"It was one slip up!" Liam countered defensively.

"Slip up? A dozen calls to the Sheriff's Department about a "monstrous dog-boy" running around the streets of Beacon Hills naked. That's a slip up?"

Liam saw the confusion on Scott's face.

"Why were you naked?" The True Alpha asked.

_Oh, geez._

"It was really hot out that night, okay?" Liam retorted. "Let me go."

"You're sure you're okay?"

"It won't happen again."

"You're in complete and total control?"

Liam looked at him. He focused on keeping his heart steady as he lied straight to Scott's face. "Yeah. Complete and total."

Scott and Stiles turned their backs on him after they undid his chains, heading for Stiles' Jeep. Liam snuck a quick look at his bloody hands and wiped it away.

"Is it a party?" Liam asked on the way.

"It's not a party," Stiles told him as they drove down the empty road.

"Then what's at midnight?"

"Your bedtime."

_Haha. _Liam thought sarcastically. "Why aren't the girls going?"

"They're meeting us there, okay? And stop asking questions, all right? It's a senior thing. You'll know when you're a senior."

"You guys having trouble with your phones?" Scott asked after glancing up from his. He'd been presumingly been trying to call Kira.

Liam was about to pull out his own phone before the Jeep began to splutter and slow down in its protest.

"Oh. What the hell?" Stiles was saying. The tall boy got out of his Jeep with Scott following in pursuit.

"You out of gas?" Liam wondered.

"No. It's electrical. Probably just the alternator again," Stiles said as he popped open the hood.

"Whoa. That's a lot of duct tape," Scott was saying. "Kidding. We'll fix it."

Stiles sighed. "I know. It's the last night of the first week of school, so you know, so I wanted to make sure everyone was there tonight."

Scott assured him. "We'll make it."

"You got any tools?"

"Yeah."

Liam fished around for one of his ear buds and was about to insert it into his ear when a sound caught his attention. Glancing out the Jeep's back window, he watched as a bolt of lightning struck the pavement a few feet away from the vehicle.

Liam poked his head through the driver's window. "Guys . . ." Another bolt of lightning struck. _"Guys!"_

"Yeah, give us a second, please."

"Liam, stay in the car, okay?"

The young werewolf wanted to scream in frustration.

Another bolt of lightning struck - this time very close to Scott and Stiles.

"That was close. Very close."

Suddenly, the Jeep flared to life and the engine started.

"Can we go now?" Liam asked.

The three piled back in their respective spots and took off again. As they neared the hospital, they spotted Malia and her dad, Mr. Tate. Stiles honked the horn repeatedly as they parked near the were-coyote. Malia bounded up to Stiles, ecstatic to see her friends.

"Sorry we're late," Stiles told her.

Liam wedged himself between Scott and Stiles, smiling crookedly at Malia. "I'm sorry too."

It _was _partly his fault they'd were later than usual. He still couldn't control his Shifts.

Liam scooted himself over to the left as Malia slid herself in the backseat with him.

"What?" The were-coyote asked when she saw all of them looking at her, waiting for an answer.

"Did you find out yet?" Stiles asked.

"Find out what?" Liam asked curiously.

"They're gonna email me," Malia replied.

"Is this about summer school?" Liam had briefly remembered Stiles telling him something about that.

"You told him?" Malia sounded a little angry at this.

"Uh . . ."

Liam could see Stiles searching for a response so he jumped in. "Oh, no. All they said was you had to go to summer school 'cause the principal said your test scores weren't good enough and you might have to repeat junior year."

There was silence before Stiles broke it with an exasperated sigh as he shot a glance toward Scott. "We should've left him chained to the tree."

Liam went to search for his dad while Stiles and Malia went off to see Melissa on the ground floor.

Liam caught up with Scott and told him the news as they headed toward the elevator. "My dad's helping out in surgery. He's not gonna be done for a couple of hours. So, I'm either hanging out here or I could still go with you guys -"

"Show me your hands."

Liam was a little caught off guard. He wasn't expecting Scott to answer that. Hesitantly, after glancing around to make sure no one was looking, he revealed his bloody fingernails. "Okay. So I'm still having trouble."

"No," Scott replied. "You're still learning. What do you do to stay focused on not changing?"

Liam pulled out his white earbuds from underneath his jacket, indicating his music. "But it's not working."

"It's working enough. Listen, Derek told me that you were one of the strongest that he'd ever seen at your age. Now, coming from him, that means a lot."

The elevator bell rung and the doors slid open, allowing Scott to step inside. He turned back to face Liam.

"Maybe it means that things are gonna be harder for you for a while but it also means something else, doesn't it?"

"That I'm really strong?" Liam asked hopefully.

Scott smiled. "Hell, yeah."

The elevator doors closed and Liam turned, replaying Scott's words in his head. A smile broke out of Liam's face.

"Hell, yeah," Liam repeated happily.

**_oOo_**

Liam aimlessly wandered the halls when a familiar scent caught his attention. It smelled like . . .

Fire?

_Parrish? _Liam thought.

He quickly slunk his way to the morgue, following Parrish's scent, to where it mingled with the Sheriff's and Melissa's.

He peered through the door window and saw Deputy Parrish lying down on the metal slab, with blood streaked across his chest, uniform torn open.

"You said you were going to keep him on desk duty," Melissa was telling Sheriff Stilinski, almost like she was reprimanding him. Like she was scolding him.

"Yeah, it was just a minor noise complaint," he told her.

"He's not on fire, is he?"

"Not that I know of."

"You know, maybe it's part of his healing process?" Melissa suggested.

Deputy Parrish suddenly jerked upright, eyes burning orange as he stood up trance-like. Sheriff Stilinski had his gun drawn and was pointing it at Deputy Parrish, who was breathing heavily. Slowly, Sheriff Stilinski lowered his gun.

"It's okay. It's okay."

"Scott," Deputy Parrish spoke between heavy pants, "We need to find Scott."

Liam listened as Deputy Parrish described - or at least tried to - describe the thing that had attacked him.

"His claws were different. Twice the size of Scott's. More like talons."

"If that's the worse part, that doesn't sound too bad."

"It's worse," Deputy Parrish continued. "They did something to me. I don't know how else to describe it other than it felt as if the life was being drawn out of me through them."

"Through the claws," Sheriff Stilinski stated. "And now he's looking for Scott?"

"Which got me thinking about what this guy can do. The rule is you have to kill an Alpha to steal their power, right?"

"I'll bet it's different for Scott. You can't steal a True Alpha's power."

"I think this guy can," Deputy Parrish told them.

Liam turned, backing away from the morgue doors, having heard enough. He took of running, ignoring the calls of _"No running!" _and _"Shh-s!"_ after him. He had to find Scott. He had to warn the others too.

They were in danger.

Again.

Yippee. Just another day in Beacon Hills.

The first person Liam managed to track a hold of was Malia. And Stiles.

Liam followed their voices as he frantically scavenged for them, thunder and rain trickling in from above.

" . . . what if . . . What if Scott's my best friend now you know, but he's not my best friend for life?"

"Well, doesn't that just happen sometimes?" Malia asked innocently.

"Yeah, but only because we let it happen. You know, that's what I'm saying. How come when we graduate we're just expected to go our separate ways? If I've already found the best people in my life, why aren't I not trying to stay with them, you know?"

"Well, I thought that was the plan. The dream."

_Okay. Keep talking guys. I'm almost there._

"The vision," Stiles corrected her. "And don't mock the vision."

"I . . . like the vision. Especially if I'm a part of it. So that's why you wanted everyone here tonight. Because you don't want to lose all your friends after senior year."

"And I hope they don't want to lose me either."

Liam finally spotted them and raced toward them, hear pounding in his chest as he neared close and closer -

"Mal?"

"Someone's coming. Someone fast," Malia spoke to Stiles before she whirled around and slammed Liam into the ground.

Liam groaned as he made contact with the cement below him.

"Oh my God," he heard Stiles say.

Liam panted, trying to utter the next few words out. Glancing up at Stiles and Malia, he said, "Scott's in trouble."

Stiles offered his hand and pulled Liam to his feet. They took off where they found Scott and Kira and a newcomer fighting their attacker under the school's overpass. The attacker was drenched in black ichor, covered from head to toe. Liam bared his teeth and let out a growl as Malia did the same.

The attacker grabbed Scott and jammed his huge glowing claws into Scott's abdomen.

Everyone froze as they watched as Scott fell to his knees, groaning in pain. The attacker looked on triumphantly, as he figured that he had done the unspeakable:

He had killed Scott McCall.

Then Scott grabbed his attacker's arm, twisting his hand out. The attacker groaned in pain as Scott rose to his feet, yanking out the impaled claws in him. The strange claws clattered to the ground.

"I don't know who you are or what you thought you were going to do, but I'll give you a choice. You can stay and I'll break something else. Or you can run."

Dark eyes whirling around frantically, the attacker looked at Stiles.

"I'd run," Stiles offered.

Within seconds, the attacker stumbled to his feet, clutching his broken arm as he took off into darkness, disappearing from sight.

Liam and the others turned to the newcomer, who slowly approached them. He was a werewolf, Liam knew right on the bat. Just like Scott, Isaac and Cora. He was tall, seemingly athletic built, around everyone else's age - 17 at most - with blond gelled hair and blue eyes.

The boy smiled a crooked smile toward them. "You don't remember me, do you? I guess I look a little different since the fourth grade."

Scott blinked in disbelief. "Theo?"

Liam frowned to himself. Who the hell was Theo? Judging from the confusion wafting from everyone else, nobody else knew either.

Except for Scott and Stiles.

"You know him?"

"They used to," Theo continued. "Trust me. I'd never thought I'd see you guys again. Couple of months ago, I heard of an Alpha in Beacon Hills. When I found out his name was Scott McCall, just couldn't believe it. Not just an Alpha, but a True Alpha."

"What do you want?"

"I came back to Beacon Hills. Back home with my family," Theo paused, then dropped the final bomb. "Because I want to be a part of your pack."

Scott was silent.

Finally, Stiles spoke up. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Theo. But right now . . . we gotta - we gotta do something. Catch you later."

Stiles grabbed Scott's arm, tugging him and the others toward the main entrance of the school. Liam looked over his shoulder to see Theo still standing in the spot where they had left him, watching them leave. Then the new werewolf turned and walked away from the building.

Scott turned to Liam. "You should go home. Your dad's probably wondering where you're at."

Liam nodded. He had completely forgotten about his dad.

"Right, yeah. Have fun then," he said. He was really disappointed that he wasn't invited with them to whatever this "Senior" thing was. Whatever it was, it sounded pretty cool.

"You don't need a ride home?" Scott asked.

Liam shook his head, shrugging his shoulders. "Nah. I'll walk. I need to clear my head anyway. See you tomorrow guys."

The group murmured their goodbyes as he turned to leave. It took longer than he realized walking home at a normal pace, but he'd made it. Once inside, Liam shot a quick text to his dad letting him know where he was. Then he searched for signs of any intruders, trying to catch any scents that stood out.

The house was empty. He was alone.

Liam sighed as he trudged up the stairs and changed clothes. As his head hit the pillow, Liam never realized that he'd gone a almost a whole day without wondering where Josephine was.

* * *

**Changed the script around with some words. Keep in mind that Stiles and Lydia are dating in this story. **

**I'm so sorry for this taking so long. I feel so terrible for keeping you guys waiting. Currently working on the next two episodes! So probably expect a double update or not. Or at least this weekend.**

**Loved the Allison (and Derek) tribute. Just had to include it for this quote for this chapter! Love you all!**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**_mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, amaliesofie, mactraverlive . com, Victoriareddick, and allfandomslover._**


	6. Parasomnia

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter VI**

_**Parasomnia**_

**_oOo_**

_**"There's something I gotta tell you."**_

_**"You're a werewolf."**_

**_oOo_**

* * *

_**From: Mason**_

**R u here yet? Gotta show you something. **

The phone that Liam had been currently in his hand made its way to the front pocket of his jeans. He sighed heavily as he pushed through the side doors of the school and caught up with his best friend.

The first thing that popped out of Mason's mouth was a string of words that probably would've confused a bystander and made them question what they were talking about.

"This is the one I was telling you about," said Mason. A old-fashioned leather clad book was in his hands, yellowed pages already flipped open to a specific spot. The two were making their way to their first class, History 103 with Mr. Yukimura as their teacher. "I got it from a rare book dealer in Germany. Cost me two hundred bucks, but it was totally worth it."

Liam glanced at Mason, praying that he would drop the discussion at hand. "You're still reading about this stuff?"

Mason gave him a "_You're kidding me, right?"_ look. Mason seemed determined to find the answer to the things he couldn't explain. "I was attacked by an armor-plated giant wearing a bear skull. It left an impression. Look." He thrust the book into Liam's view, hoping to get a more interested reaction. "Look. Have you ever seen anything like this?"

Liam shook his head as he briefly glanced at the page. "Uh, no. Never."

"And then there's this whole section about the Nagual," Mason rambled on excitedly as they approached their classroom's door. "Have you ever heard of the name Tezcat . . ."

"Tezcatlipoca," Liam finished for him, then realized what he had just did. He struggled to keep it covered with a quick lie. "No. No, never heard of him."

Mason picked a desk from the door and Liam picked the one across from his. A familiar smell entered his nose but he brushed it aside, thinking nothing of it, because it was impossible.

"Take your seats, everyone," Mr. Yukimura called out.

Liam turned and was ready to sit down when a familiar face caught his attention.

_Oh, dear God, no. No. No. No._

A petite Latina face, with pretty dark brown eyes and medium curly hair.

"Oh! Great," he sighed aloud.

What was _she _doing here? She was supposed to be back at Devenford Prep - not here!

Hayden Romero looked surprised to see him too, but then her facial expression quickly changed to anger and hate in her eyes, chewing on her pink-flavored bubblegum in all her former glory . . .

_Oh, why today?! Oh my God, someone get me out of here!_

"Liam. You're not gonna just stand there, are you?"

"Maybe," he uttered, still glancing around, avoiding eye contact with anyone, especially _her. _

"The whole semester?" Mr. Yukimura asked.

If that's what it would take, then yeah. "Maybe," he repeated, nodding as he was confident in himself.

"Liam, have a seat."

Hesitatingly, Liam sat down at the desk he was by, then immediately looked down at his seat. He saw pink bubblegum sticking onto the bottom of his pants. He gave Hayden an exasperated look to which she only smiled smugly in reply.

_She did it. She actually did it.I'm so done right now_, he thought.

Mr. Yukimura smiled and clapped his hands together."All right, welcome to History 103."

Liam went ahead and planted his face against his desk.

It was going to be a long day.

**_oOo_**

"Look, I'm not saying I believe all of it a hundred percent, but people around us seem to know things," Mason began saying as the bell signaled for class change and the two boys left the locker room. Liam quickly had darted into the locker room and exchanged his jeans for his red shorts.

"Like Lydia, she knows things," Mason continued. He closed his mouth when they reached Liam's locker.

Liam turned. "Dude, it's the second week at school. Shouldn't you be thinking about other things like . . ."

He glanced over Mason's shoulder, searching for an reply. "Like the soccer team?" he suggested. The two watched as several boys in bright green soccer gear walked past them.

"What do you think I'm going to do? Follow them out to the field and watch them practice while I pretend to study?"

"It's warm out. They'll probably gonna be shirtless," Liam told him.

Liam could see the wheels turning in Mason's brain as the human boy was contemplating his suggestion. It _was _very tempting. Mason sighed. "I'll see you in Physics."

Mason brushed past him and he turned to his locker, fiddling with the combination lock. Out of the corner of her eye, he saw a flash of curly black hair and made eye contact with Hayden.

Another annoyed sigh escaped his lips. Of all the lockers in the school building she _had_ to have the one next to his.

"Nice shorts," Hayden smiled, obviously pleased with her work.

"Yeah, thanks. You know, I was wondering if you were still pissed off about the sixth grade, but I guess you cleared that up."

She definitely had. He remembered her as this cute girl on the playground that he used to follow around during fourth grade and when sixth grade came, it had all changed.

All because of that _one_ incident.

"I'm not pissed off, Liam," Hayden looked at him directly for the first time. She said in a cold voice as she closed her locker door with a click."I'm vengeful."

_Ah, Jesus. She's still on that? Ugggghhh! _Liam mentally cursed his life as he leaned his body against his locker.

He thought of ways he could skip the school day to avoid her, but then decided against it. Scott wouldn't be too pleased. Liam figured that he had to find a way to make amends with Hayden before she went and made his life hell.

And he was going to do whatever it would take.

Just not today. _Definitely_ not today.

**_oOo_**

Stiles had shot him a text asking him to meet him in the parking lot during Liam's break. He took it as a sign to get away from school so he went.

The Jeep was unlocked when Liam arrived and papers were scattered in the passenger seat. He threw his backpack onto the backseat and climbed in.

Grabbing one of the papers that had been lying in his spot he began scanning it, when Stiles opened the door in frustration and practically jumped in the driver's seat.

"What's a criminal tremor?" Liam asked.

Stiles snatched the paper out of his hand and jammed the key into the ignition. "Doesn't matter," he said as the Jeep reeled backwards, tires squealing.

"So, you know Theo?" Stiles asked.

"The kid that showed up last night? The one who was all like "I wanna join your pack", that guy? Then yeah," Liam replied.

Stiles didn't seem too amused and shot Liam a look. "Yeah, that guy."

Liam was getting bored. His muscles were crying in protest from staying the same crouched position underneath Theo's window. Finally, Theo left (presumingly to do something villainous as Stiles put it) and the garage door opened, a Suburban pulling out with Theo in the driver's seat.

Stiles and Liam dashed to the Jeep and followed him into the forest. They watched him retrieve something from the back of his car and hurried after him.

"I told you he was up to something," Stiles said.

"We just spent three hours watching this dude play video games in his bedroom," Liam reminded him. "He better be out here getting high or covering up a mass murder."

"Let's find out."

"You still got his scent?" Stiles asked.

"Don't need it," Liam responded, looking down, seeing Theo's footprints in the mud below them.

A buzzing from the back of Liam's pants sounded again and Liam got his phone out, staring at the screen which indicated another text from Mason.

"What? What's wrong?" Stiles turned to face Liam, a confused expression on his face.

"I forgot, I was supposed to meet Mason at the school gym."

"Okay, why didn't you just tell him?"

"Tell him what?"

Stiles looked offended. "Anything."

Liam stammered out an explanation. "I can't just tell him anything."

"Why not?" Stiles pressed on.

"Because I haven't . . . I haven't told him everything."

"Still? We said it was okay." Scott and Stiles had gave him the rundown and as much as it sounded easy to hear, actually doing it and telling someone were different things.

"Yeah, I know, but it's not that easy. It's a lot to accept."

"He watched my dad blow up a Berserker with a land mine. I think the groundwork's been pretty thoroughly laid for acceptance. Scott and I have been through this. Okay? More than once. It's always been better when they know." Stiles turned to walk away as if that ended this whole conversation. But Liam wasn't finished.

"But what if he freaks out?" Liam rambled on nervously as he hurried to catch up with Stiles. "What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he tries to stab me with something silver? Or what if . . ."

The ground gave out from underneath him and he fell straight down into the mud below him with a loud thud.

"What the hell are you doing?" Stiles asked in a hushed whisper, peering into the hole Liam just fell in.

"I. . ." _This wasn't my fault!_

"There he is. Hurry up. Stop screwing around."

Liam sighed, grabbing his phone from the mud, wiping it off with his thumb. He turned it on and saw the texts Mason had sent. With a little chime, the flashlight app was activated and something silver glinted.

"Come on."

Liam managed to hop - well, more like jump - out of the hole and go after Stiles. They paused behind a cluster of bushes, watching as Theo made his way to the wooden bridge in front of them.

"Try and get his scent. Get anything?"

"Soap. It's nice. It smells good."

"Not his soap, his emotional state. Chemosignals, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Okay. I . . ." Liam took a breath in. It smelled familiar. He should know. He felt it before. He had taken it from Josephine. "He's sad."

"He's sad?" Stiles repeated incredulously.

"Well, not just sad . . ." Liam struggled for the correct word. "It's more like grief."

"Grief?" Stiles looked deep in thought, then suddenly grabbed Liam's arm and began leading them away from the bridge, away from Theo. "Oh, my God! Go! We have to go."

"What? Why?"

"Go! Right now. Just go," Stiles said, then gave Liam an explanation. "That's the bridge where they found his sister."

_Sister? _"What sister?"

"The one that got lost and died from exposure. He's leaving a flower for her."

"That doesn't sound evil," Liam said to him.

"I know."

Suddenly, they froze, seeing a figure perched on top of a fallen tree. Theo Raeken jumped down, landing gracefully on his feet and straightened, a smirk on his face. "What you guys doing?"

Liam gave a growl and stepped forward before Stiles stuck out a hand to stop him.

_Where the hell did he come from? He was just back at the bridge!_

"Whoa. Why do I get the feeling this kid's tougher than he looks?"

"Only when we let him off his leash," Stiles remarked.

"Stiles, we were in Little League together. Why are you so suspicious of me?"

_Because maybe you showed up exactly when someone else was trying to kill Scott?_

Apparently, that wasn't what Stiles had in mind because he ripped out two pieces of papers and showed them to Theo. "Because of these. One's a speeding ticket signed by your dad eight years ago. The other one's a signature on a transfer form to Beacon High. They're different."

Theo glanced at them. "Huh. Yeah, they do look a little different."

"No, they're totally different. Signed by two different people."

Liam was getting a headache. He didn't know how the hell Stiles came to conclusion that they were two different signatures and he didn't want to know.

"So my dad's not my dad? Like he's an impostor?" Theo continued, cocking an thick eyebrow.

"Yeah, something like that."

"Who do you think I am? We don't know yet. Want me to give you a DNA sample or something?"

"No. I don't have anything from the fourth grade to match it to," Stiles said.

"You know, Stiles, I came back here for Scott . . ." Theo told him.

Liam felt like he wasn't there and looked down, seemingly admiring and interested in his shoes when he wasn't. He listened to Theo's words, understanding them, knowing what it must've felt like, being alone with no one by your side.

". . . But I also came back for you," Theo continued. "Someone like you. Someone who's willing to walk into the woods in the middle of the night to protect his friends. I don't have anyone like that, but Scott does. You all do. I know I'm in the right place. I'm meant to be here. I'm meant to be part of this pack."

**_oOo_**

Stiles and Liam were making their way back to the Jeep to where they found Scott leaning against the door.

"Find anything?"

"Nope," Stiles gritted through his teeth.

"I fell in a hole," Liam offered, attempting to lighten the mood to no avail.

"It was the bridge where his sister died, wasn't it?" Scott went on.

"Yes, it was. Very embarrassing. So we are gonna leave now," Stiles turned the key but the engine sputtered and stopped.

"Son of a . . ." Stiles got out and popped open the hood. "Liam, just do me a favor, get in the car and turn the ignition when I say."

"Stiles?" Scott was trying to get his best friend's attention but Stiles wasn't having it.

"Be with you in a sec. Try it."

The key turned and Liam tried his best to get the engine started. Nothing happened.

"Stiles," Scott cut in.

"Yes. Okay, we followed him out here. What do you want me to say? That I'm a stalker, huh? That I'm crazy, totally paranoid? None of this is new information. Now you're gonna try to at least give him the benefit of the doubt? I give people the benefit of the doubt. I've given a lot of benefit to a lot of people," Stiles ranted in frustration.

"Like Derek? Kira?" Scott paused. "Liam?"

"I was right about Peter. Try it again.

Liam turned the key once more and the Jeep's engine sputtered and stopped.

"You know, I bet you still think that there's something about him that can be saved."

"Maybe."

Stiles exhaled deeply. "Try it again."

Liam obeyed, sensing the anger and frustration rolling off from the human boy, not wishing the provoke him further.

"Why can't you trust anyone?"

_"Because you trust everyone!"_ Stiles yelled as he exploded, then let out a scream of pain as his fist connected with the alternator.

Liam looked up at the sound of bone crunching, wondering if he should get out of the car and do something. He decided to stay in the car. He had never seen Stiles this angry.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Stiles lied.

"You could've broken it. It's not broken. Let me see it," Scott pleaded with concern.

"I'm fine," Stiles lied again.

"Let me see it."

Scott must've taken and siphoned Stiles' pain because when Stiles got back into the Jeep, his hand wasn't broken. Liam shot a text to Mason letting him know where he was and that he was on his way. The whole way neither Stiles or Liam talked.

Liam jogged the rest of the way to the school when Stiles dropped him off at his house.

Mason was standing outside, cellphone in his hand when Liam arrived.

"Hey," Liam mustered, out of breath, ready to issue an apology.

"Hey."

"Sorry I'm late."

"Oh, no, you're not late. You missed it. I worked out. For two hours."

"Yeah, I know. I forgot. And I'm gonna tell you why," Liam began. Thoughts kept flitting through his head and he wondered how he was going to continue with this. Probably start off slow and easy. Go with simple. "Actually, I'm gonna tell you a lot of things. A lot of hard to believe things. Really hard to believe."

"There's a wolf," Mason told him.

_Yes, I'm a wolf, Mason. _"Yeah, I'm getting to that."

"No. There's a wolf right behind you," Mason told him, eyes gesturing to look over his shoulder.

Confused, Liam slowly glanced over his shoulder and saw a big black wolf standing there in the parking lot. "That's a wolf," he confirmed.

The wolf growled and let out a roar, sending the two boys taking off into the school. Seriously, why did the school not lock their doors at night?

The wolf chased after them until Liam remembered _"Hey, I'm a goddamn werewolf! I shouldn't be running from an ordinary wolf."_

Liam turned and let out a roar that echoed through the halls.

The wolf paused in its steps, blue electric eyes fading into normal dark brown or black. Then it turned and trotted away from the building.

Liam turned slowly, ready to face Mason, canines slipping from his mouth, eyes fading back to normal. _What if he thinks I'm a monster? What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore? What if -?_

"There's something I gotta tell you."

Mason didn't seem scared, instead he looked impressed. "You're a werewolf," he said excitedly as he nodded to himself, then grinned.

* * *

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**_mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, amaliesofie, mactraverlive . com, Victoriareddick, and allfandomslover._**


	7. Dreamcatchers

**All That We're Living For **

**Chapter VII **

_**Dreamcatchers**_

**_oOo_**

"_**They're coming. They're coming for all of us."**_

**_oOo_**

There was a Pack meeting before the beginning of school and first period - and this time, Mason was included.

"Tracy wasn't just having trouble sleeping," Lydia was saying. "It was a real disorder. It was night terrors."

"Well, now she's the night terror," Stiles commented. "Especially since no one can find her."

"Okay," Scott began, taking the lead from Lydia. "I know we're all tired and miserable . . . Except for you."

Mason had this look of glee and happiness on his face. He was ecstatic to have been finally let in in the know. "Oh, I'm sorry. This is all just . . . mind-blowing. You're a kitsune. I don't even know what that is."

"I'm still learning," Kira told him.

"Liam, we said you could tell him," Stiles said, giving Liam a pointed look. "Not invite him into the inner circle."

"Whoa. _I'm _in the inner circle?"

"No," Liam and Stiles replied simultaneously, almost immediately.

"Guys, look, back to Tracy," Scott interrupted. Confidence crept into his voice. "She's just one lone wolf. We find her."

"One lone serial-killing wolf," Malia reminded them.

"Uh, she only killed one person, you know," Stiles corrected. "The other two were mauled."

"All right, what do we do when we catch her?"

"I say we put her down," Malia offered. The others and Liam himself did not look pleased at the thought.

Mason glanced back and forth between everyone, as if he were watching a very interesting tennis game. "Intense," he spoke.

"Guys, let's concentrate on finding Tracy. We're figure out the rest later."

The Pack began to go their separate ways: Scott, Lydia, and Kira to AP Biology while Liam and Mason went to History 103.

The bell rang in as students began to file in to their respective seats. Hayden wasn't sitting where she had been yesterday, but instead chose to sit in the back row. Liam was glad and was about to take his seat when he noticed the girl sitting next to her.

She was breathing heavily, hair unkempt and unbrushed hanging in front of her face, hands - her claws, more specifically - gripping the sides of the desk, bare feet pressed hard against the floor underneath her chair. He looked closer and saw that it was Tracy, the lone wolf who everyone had been talking about earlier. Lydia had shown him a picture of her.

He got up and walked out of class without another word. The tardy bell hadn't rung yet so Liam figured that he was still good to go. He just had to find Scott and the others. He realized he didn't know where Scott's classroom was, he listened and followed when he heard what he was looking for.

Liam knew he probably could've been wrong and that it could've been another Scott the teacher was talking to, but he followed his instincts, smelling Scott's scent as he edged closer and closer.

" . . . Nice to see where your priorities are, Scott. Since you have such a good grasp of the subject, how about you lead us in a review of last night's reading," Mrs. Ramsey told him.

"Uh... Sure," Scott replied uncertainty. He glanced out of the corner of his eye, catching sight of Liam. He frowned and Liam made a gesture that read _'Come here now.'_

"Scott?"

"Sorry, just looking for the page."

Liam waved and gestured wildly to get Scott's attention, jerking his thumb behind him.

"Scott?" Mrs. Ramsey repeated.

"Yeah, one sec. Sorry," Scott motioned to his ear in a way that wasn't so secretive.

Liam pressed his back against the wall and whispered, "She's here. She's in History class right now. Tracy. She's here."

Liam walked down the hall as swiftly as he could. He had to get everyone out, away from Tracy's harm.

Hayden's voice echoed in his ears distantly.

_"Hey, are you all right? Are you even supposed to be in this class?"_

Liam found the nearest fire alarm and pulled the lever down, causing the fire alarm to ring loudly. He had always wanted to do that.

"No rushing, please. I'm sure it's just a drill," Mr. Yukimura was telling everyone.

Liam walked back to the classroom as fast as he could, stopping at the door, letting the other students file out past him. Hayden's voice rang in his ears.

_"Hey, we need to go. Are you all right?"_

When everyone finally disappeared, he had a clearer view of what was happening in front of him. He saw Tracey grab Hayden's forearm and stepped forward, ready to help but Scott gave him a look and shook his head.

"Tracy," Scott spoke quietly, trying to rouse the sleeping girl's attention.

Tracy's eyes whirled around wildly, eyes unfocused and full of fear.

"Tracy," Scott tried again, taking a step forward.

Whatever she was seeing must've scared her a lot. The poor girl was breathing heavily as if her heart was ready to burst any second and quit from the panic that was surging through her veins. Liam couldn't blame her for that but he wanted her to let Hayden go and hopefully Scott and the others would be able to figure out that rest. That they would be able to help her be a werewolf.

"Tracy. Tracy, let go. Tracy."

"Hey, you're hurting me," Hayden whimpered. Liam watched in horror as blood began to seep out as Tracy's grip tightened. As much as he wanted to hate his arch-nemesis, he couldn't stand to see her in pain.

"Tracy, let her go."

Tracy slid slowly out from her chair, still clutching Hayden's wrist, taking a small step forward. "They're coming," the girl warned in a wavering voice. "They're coming for all of us."

Then suddenly, she fell to the floor, letting go of Hayden's arm, silver liquid pooling out from her mouth, dark brown eyes open and glazed before they fluttered shut.

_They're coming. They're coming for all of us. _The question was, who were '_they?'_

Scott and Stiles immediately jolted into action, both of them picking the unconscious girl up, scurrying out the classroom, out into the hallway and the main entrance, presumingly heading to Deaton's clinic.

Hayden, still holding her arm, looked at Liam in confusion, probably searching for an answer to whatever had happened just moments ago. "She wasn't even supposed to be in our class. Where are they taking her?"

Liam ducked his head, immediately trying to come up with a plausible explanation. "Uh... The hospital, I guess," he told her. He thought for a second, letting his eyes drift around. "Do you need help getting to the Nurse's Office?"

Suddenly the gentle voice from her was gone and was replaced by a hardness. "I think I'll make it." She gave him a steely glare before she turned on her heels and strutted down the hallway until she disappeared from sight.

Well. So much for making amends.

Liam began thinking. There had to be someone else that he could talk to. Someone else that could know Tracy. A thought came to him. He didn't like it but it was better than nothing.

"Come on," he told Mason. He led him outside on the lacrosse field, where players were practicing for the spring. In the center, they watched as Brett Talbot scored a goal in the net while shirtless.

"So, he's a werewolf too?"

"Yup," Liam answered disdainfully.

"This just gets better and better."

_Well, good for you, Mason! Good for you!_

Brett, upon seeing them, threw his lacrosse stick over his shoulders, resting against the back of his neck.

"Brett, can we show you something? Have you seen her?"

"Cute," Brett replied with a look toward Liam. Liam wanted to tell him that Tracy wasn't his girlfriend. "But never seen her."

"Could Satomi have turned her without you knowing?"

"After the dead pool, Satomi's not exactly doing much recruiting."

"That's how it works? Alpha werewolves just go around biting people?" Mason asked.

"Or you can be born, like me and my sister. Satomi took us in after our family died in a fire."

Liam stared at Tracy's picture, trying to determine what he was missing. His eyes lingered on the silver leaf necklace around her neck and zoomed in on the photo with his fingers.

Silver . . .

He remembered the hole he had fell in, the one where he had thought he had saw something silver in it before Stiles had distracted him. "Guys, I think I just found something."

They agreed to meet Brett by the woods after school, when it was dark enough to go exploring. When nobody would ask questions. Mason trailed behind Liam and Brett while they searched for the hole Liam had told them about.

"Sure you know where you're going?"

"I know where I am," Liam said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"So do I," quipped Brett. "Middle of nowhere."

A loud thud caught their attention and the two werewolves turned to find Mason no longer behind them.

Mason's voice floated from the hole. "Guys? I think I found it," he called.

Liam and Brett peered down into the hole Mason had fell in.

"See the necklace?" Liam asked.

Mason dug with his fingers through the mud, hands wandering over the hole, searching. "No, I don't see it," he stammered finally. Brett offered his hand and pulled Mason out of the hole and onto his feet.

"Liam, I . . . I thought you said this was a sinkhole."

Liam gave Brett a look.

"It's a hole. What's the difference?" he said, wondering where Brett was going with this.

"I mean, look at all these handprints and look at all this dirt. She didn't fall in here," Brett continued, the paused. "She was buried."

"Intense."

Liam looked around, glancing at the hole, then let his eyes wander around, trying to make sense of his bearings. This was the right place, wasn't it? He was sure. Unless . . . it wasn't.

Liam let out an exhale. "I don't think this is the one."

"What do you mean?"

"It was closer to the bridge," he prodded on, remembering the wooden bridge Stiles and him had watched Theo from. He searched for the cluster of bushes finding them nowhere near him. "Much closer. This is a different hole."

Brett looked around, then met Liam's eyes. He asked the question no one else was daring to ask. "Then who crawled out of this one?"

"Okay," Liam swallowed. "Um, I'm gonna find Scott. Mason, you go home. And uh, Brett?"

Brett turned.

"Thanks," Liam said finally.

Liam made his way to the clinic to where he found Deaton, Stiles, Scott, and Theo.

"It doesn't have to mean I'm part of the pack. Or like you've accepted me or anything like that," Theo was in the middle of saying. He currently was helping Stiles from the floor, while Stiles' body language screamed _Don't touch me! _"It just means I can help catch this girl. Scott. I can help you."

Scott looked past Theo's shoulder and noticed Liam standing there. "Liam."

He glanced at the floor, at the blood scattered everywhere, confusion arching his brow. "What happened here?"

"Kanima," Stiles coughed. Liam remembered them telling him something about that. Something about one of their friends turning into one. Someone named . . . Jackson?

"Doesn't matter right now," Scott hurried, struggling to stay on balance. "We need to get to the station. Liam, can you meet us there? Okay. C'mon, let's go."

* * *

**I apologize for this chapter being a little shorter than usual. Hope you enjoyed! I know I did when Mason finally found out about Liam!**

**SibunaGleekR5er: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**_mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, amaliesofie, mactraverlive . com, Victoriareddick, allfandomslover, and SibunaGleekR5er._**


	8. Condition Terminal

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter VIII**

_**Condition Terminal**_

**_oOo_**

"_**His condition was terminal."**_

"_**What does that mean?"**_

"_**Failure."**_

**_oOo_**

"Tracy was buried?"

Scott and Liam burst through the hospital doors, walking to find out the condition of their friend, Lydia, hoping to find out whether she was okay or not.

"In a hole," Liam said. "Buried alive. Crawled out. Then we found another hole."

"Who was buried in that one?" Scott asked, turning his head to look at him. Liam tried not to look down at Tracy's blood still lingering on his Alpha's shirt.

Liam shook his head uncertainly as he spoke. "I don't know, but I think we're gonna want to find out."

They turned the corner, stepped into the elevator and waited for their floor. The doors finally slid open after what seemed like an eternity. They met with the others, who were waiting for the news about Lydia, especially Stiles who was pacing anxiously, fingers twitching.

"Stiles," Melissa called.

Stiles turned. "How bad is it?"

"Could have been worse," Melissa replied, hands on her hips. She faced Theo, who was standing by Kira. "Theo, nice going on that tourniquet. You probably saved her life."

Melissa pivoted around in a circle, glancing at everyone until she came to Scott. Liam noticed Stiles giving a _I-still-don't-trust-you-but-thank-you-for-saving-my-girlfriend's-life _look.

"All right," Melissa said sternly. "She's about to go into surgery. So it's going to be a while. Any other supernatural details that I need to know about or do we just stitch her up and hope for the best?"

"It was the tail," Kira piped up from her spot beside Theo.

"Yeah, Tracy cut her with the tail," Scott confirmed. "If that makes a difference."

"Okay," Melissa gave everyone a stern look before she walked off.

"But it wasn't just Tracy," Malia stammered. She looked toward Stiles. "There were others. The guys in masks."

Stiles listened, then exchanged a glance with Scott before he brushed past him.

"Lydia will be all right," Liam offered. "My dad's the best."

But no one seemed to hear him.

Liam hung around the hospital for the rest of the night. Melissa had come out and told him that Lydia was fine and was currently resting.

He followed her to the desk she was supervising.

She glanced up at him, seeing his worried look. "You all right, Liam? Are you still having trouble sleeping?"

He shook his head. Now that he had thought about it, he hadn't had a bad night in three days since the night he went to Deaton's. "No. Just thinking about what Tracy was saying."

Melissa nodded if that answered everything. Liam turned to leave when she stopped him.

"I'm surprised you haven't asked about Josephine."

He spun back around. "What?"

Melissa gave a sad smile. "Well, I mean, you guys have been busy, so that I understand, but she said not to worry -"

"Whoa, wait. What do you mean?" Liam held up a finger. "Wait. _She left_?"

"I thought she told you guys." Melissa looked slightly confused.

Liam shook his head. Was that the reason he hadn't had any bad dreams or visions? Because Josephine had left and hadn't been in Beacon Hills for the past three days?

"When did she leave? What - what did she say? Did she leave a note or something?"

"As far as I know, she left sometime on Monday. When I woke up, she left a note saying that she wanted to take a break and that she'll come back when she's ready. I assumed that she told all you guys."

"No. She didn't," Liam said. He was about to say something when he changed his mind and a hand laid on his shoulder. He jumped at the sudden touch.

"Dr. Geyser," Melissa smiled. Liam looked up to see his step-father looking down at him.

"You ready to go home, Liam?"

Liam nodded, a bit relieved to be avoiding this whole Josephine conversation. He murmured a goodbye to Melissa and walked out of the hospital with his father.

**_oOo_**

The day flew by in a blur. Hayden avoided him the rest of the day as if he was a disease and Mason chatted happily about this new club called the _Sinema_. It was a gay club and Mason wanted Liam to come along to be his wingman. Which Liam wasn't sure about.

Coach Finstock wanted to know if Liam was still practicing for the spring and Liam had guilty lied. He loved lacrosse, but the last few days had been hell and he honestly didn't think twice about it.

The freshmen and sophomores were whispering and spreading rumours about Tracy, wondering if she was on sort of drug that caused her to break her desk in half. Others had said it was because of a strange pregnancy, or a boyfriend that slipped her steroids. Whatever floated around, it always sounded downright ridiculous and Liam wanted to scream at everyone that it wasn't the case. Nobody else knew that Tracy was dead (yet) and Liam felt sorry for her friends who must've been wondering where she was.

How did anyone deal with this?

He couldn't.

Nightfall came and Liam went gladly. He dressed as appropriately as he could, wearing a black leather jacket over some jeans, meeting Mason at what seemed like an abandoned warehouse. He checked his phone again for news about Lydia's condition and for anything else.

"Can you put your phone away for five minutes? Scott can howl if he needs you," Mason said, giving him a glance.

Liam felt weird talking to Mason about all of this. The supernatural and everything. Sometimes he would forget until Mason reminded him that he knew.

"I just feel like I should be doing something," Liam admitted.

Mason, who was wearing a clean white shirt, turned and faced him, pressing both of his hands together as he gestured to Liam's chest with them. "You are. You're my wingman tonight. And considering the state of my dating life, I need a wingman, co-pilot and a really hot flight attendant."

"I'm definitely not your hot flight attendant," Liam said, cracking a small smile, raising his eyebrow.

"Okay, yeah, choices are limited, but at least here, you can get drunk," Mason suggested. Liam didn't want to tell him that werewolves _couldn't_ get drunk.

The back door opened, revealing Hayden in a short tight-fitting black dress that showed her curves. She smiled warmly at Mason until she saw Liam, pursing her lips. He looked away, silently cursing to himself, biting the inside of his cheek.

She sighed. "I said I'd let _you_ in. Not him."

"You said I could have a plus one," Mason said in disbelief as he didn't agree with what Hayden was telling him.

"I didn't say plus Liam," Hayden snapped back.

"I'm his flight attendant," Liam interrupted, rolling his shoulders as he faced her.

Hayden frowned, thin brows curving. "What?"

"Wingman," he corrected himself quickly. "Forget it. I don't have to go in."

He turned to leave when Mason grabbed his shoulders and tugged him back.

"No, you're coming," Mason insisted, an arm around Liam's shoulders. "Okay. How about me and him . . . " Mason dug into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash between his fingers. Liam followed it, wondering where the hell Mason had gotten that type of money at. "Plus 50?"

Liam swallowed as he watched as Hayden eagerly wrapped her hand around Mason's money. "Welcome to Sinema," she said with a forced smile, pushing the door wider to let them gain access into the club. Liam rolled his eyes as he followed Mason inside.

They passed through a silver confetti curtain which also seemed to be doubling as a projector screen, as there were old black and white films playing. He exchanged a glance with Mason who nodded in awe of the club. The two took in the sight of moving, dancing half-naked bodies while disco lights flashed and flickered around everywhere. Music thrummed heavily, bass pumping through the whole room as him and Mason's eyes landed on the D.J. mixing tapes on top of a stage in front of the black and white sign labeled "Sinema."

There were very few girls here, Liam noticed. But that was probably to be expected, he thought.

"We don't look old enough to be here," Liam told his friend.

"Neither does he," Mason replied, motioning his hand toward Brett, who was currently grinding up against a girl.

"So is this club mixed?" They turned back to find Brett ditching the girl in exchange for a boy as they leaned in to make out.

"Ish," Mason said, nodding.

_Well, okay then._

Mason went off to see if he could dance with someone, while Liam stayed put and tried not to mingle with anyone. He never really did have good social skills, especially in clubs. So much for being Mason's wingman. He watched as Hayden occasionally walked past him, holding a tray full of blue-lit vials in one palm.

She was getting a refill until the bartender snatched one from her tray and took a drink. He couldn't see her face, just the bartender's.

"You remember I have to pay for these out of my own pocket, right?"

"Yep," he replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, that's great, Phil. You just stay back there getting drunk as usual."

The bartender - Phil - showed her his hand, which didn't quiver. "Steady as a rock," he told her with a smile. Liam could picture Hayden mentally rolling her eyes when she turned around with her tray. He saw her look at something on her tray as she murmured softly, "I'm never going to make enough."

He watched her as she went around, offering the tray as she went. Liam wondered what Hayden needed money for.

Searching for Mason, he found him and Brett along the back of the club, Mason standing by Brett as they both shot back a drink as Brett sat on a couch.

He smiled as he watched them both chuckle at something. He was happy for Mason . . . and for Brett. If that was possible.

Liam stopped where he was, sniffing. Something felt . . . off. It seemed like possibly it was just in his head, but his gut was telling him it wasn't. That it was real. He glanced around, music fading out as he tried to scavenge for the source.

What was it? He asked himself this as he turned around in a circle, eyes wandering over the sweaty bodies near him, their sweat and arousal mixing with the smell of the lights and smoke around them. The _tap-tap-tap_ of someone's shoes began to stick out. Then they faded away and the music blared back to life into his ears. Liam stumbled a bit as he shook his head, trying to convince himself that it must've been real. Whatever it was. The music turned up louder and dancing boys and men crowded around him, engulfing him until he pushed past them to escape.

He found Brett and pulled him aside, describing what he thought he heard.

"No, I didn't catch anything," Brett was telling him as Hayden walked past them once again with her tray.

"No one else in here's like us?"

"I don't know, dude. Maybe. It's Beacon Hills. What's the difference?" Brett replied. Liam could tell that he was watching him.

"It felt different."

"What do you mean?"

Liam frowned, struggling for the right words. "It felt off. It felt . . . _wrong_." He gave another sigh and walked off, hoping to find whatever it was he sensed.

"Hey, uh, do you see that guy? He keeps looking over here," Mason's voice was saying. "Do you know him?"

"Yeah. That's Lucas."

There it was again. That feeling that something was off, he could sense it. Liam turned his head, letting his eyes turn yellow. He glanced to where Mason was and found his friend gone. Brett had disappeared to God knew where.

Liam began to panick. He would not allow his best friend to get hurt when - if his suspicions were correct - a supernatural or whatever being was on the loose in the club. He had to find him.

He collided against someone and realized to his horror that it was Hayden. The blue vials she'd been holding on top of her tray clattered to the ground.

"Are you kidding me?" she scolded angrily. "Those were $10 each."

"Sorry," he mustered, glancing down at the shattered glasses on the floor below them. He felt guilty.

"The bartender isn't just going to refill them for me."

"Uh, okay, um, I've got money. I've got, um . . ." Liam frantically dug into his pockets for the money he had left. " Uh . . . $12 and uh . . . Change."

"You still owe me $200," Hayden scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief as she threw his coins back toward him.

He fumbled for them as the coins jangled and sighed as one of the coins slipped from his fingers, rolling behind him. He turned to catch it and was met with a familiar face.

Josephine held the fallen coin in front of her, holding it out for him.

"Josephine," he said, surprised. A ton of questions ran through his mind but he could only form one sentence. "You're back."

She gave him a lopsided smile, still holding the coin between her index finger and thumb. "I think you dropped this," she said.

"Yeah. Thanks." He took the coin from her and pocketed the rest of his leftover money. "How . . . um . . . did you get here?" he asked as the question dawned on him, feeling compelled to ask.

"I called Melissa. She told me that Scott and Kira were here. Apparently, this used to be the old Dayner warehouse," she explained and her eyes wandered around over at the flashing lights and the people dancing. "Times really have changed," she murmured softly. She glanced down at the shattered glasses lying on the floor behind Liam, inclining her finger to the mess. "Shouldn't someone clean that up?"

"I'm sure someone will get it," he answered. He felt bad, knowing that it was his fault that he wasn't looking where he'd been going and costing Hayden more money out of her paycheck. He made a mental note that he would clean it up when he found Mason and saw that he was all right.

_Damn it. Where are you, Mason? Help me out here!_

"What'd you do to get on her bad side? She doesn't seem that she likes you very much," Josephine said, looking in Hayden's direction before turning her attention back to him.

Liam chuckled. "Oh, she doesn't. It's a long story. She's still pissed at me about it."

Like how was he suppose to make up for the sixth grade when they broke each other's noses on Picture Day? When he was an angry little shit full of I.E.D. he couldn't control?

She noticed him watching and gave a tight-lipped smile, apparently probably seeing his downcast expression, changing the topic for which he was grateful for. He wanted to forget the whole Sixth Grade Incident with Hayden and leave it all behind. He wanted to start over with her.

"I'm sorry for leaving without an explanation. I -"

Suddenly, Liam heard the sound of distant roaring. He held up a finger, mentioning her to wait. "Hold on a minute." He listened again, and this time it was much, much clearer. "C'mon."

Liam and Josephine hurriedly brushed through the moving crowd. Liam paused and turned to Josephine. "I don't know what's in there," he confessed. "But if you don't want to fight, then stay here."

She gave him a wistful look as he entered through the projector screen and heard her footsteps following closely behind.

"Run!" Liam heard Brett yell. He heard Mason's frantic heartbeat, the fear rolling from him as the human tried his best to process the thing that was in front of him.

Right in front of him, he saw a teenage boy swipe at Brett with spikes in his arm, causing a long cut across Brett's stomach, tearing open his shirt as blood spilled out. Liam roared, tackling the boy to the ground with as much force as he could muster. But the boy - the creature - only grabbed Liam by the shoulders and slammed him back against the cold floor, hands pressing him back. One hand lifted threateningly and Liam wrapped his hand around the boy's wrist, trying to prevent him from harming him any further, staring up at the black eyes. Behind the creature, Liam saw as Josephine tried to sneak up from behind and with a metal pole, whacked the creature across the head. The boy snarled, roaring at her and Josephine dropped the pole in fright, immediately stumbling back just as Scott and Kira burst through the entrance.

Liam glanced up, noticing them. "You're a little late!"

Scott launched toward the boy while Kira whipped out her collapsible katana from her belt. Scott used the lighting rig to swing around as his feet launched the creature away from Liam, leaping over his beta as he threw punches that didn't quite land. The creature made a move that sent Scott easily crashing to the floor. It almost seemed like a joke.

Liam would've laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious and he was fighting to stay alive and protect himself and the others.

Josephine glanced up when she noticed the creature heading her way, whimpering as she backed up until she was pressed against the wall. The creature grabbed her by the throat, lifting her in her air, as she clawed at her throat - at his hand, eyes whirling around wildly as her legs kicked and flailed from underneath her.

"Hey!" Liam shouted, trying to cause a distraction.

The creature turned, dropping Josephine to where she fell to the floor, dry heaving while she gasped for air. Liam swiped with his arm, but the creature planted a kick to his chest, sending him flying back against some equipment. Kira decided it was her time to step in, swinging her katana around, dodging the creature's spiked arms while he blocked her aims. Scott shook his head, dazed from his fall, then immediately shot to his feet to help.

Mason was on the sidelines pressing his hands against Brett's bleeding abdomen while Brett concentrated on the fight happening in front of them, propped up against the wall. "What is that thing?" Brett huffed between his clenched teeth.

Liam watched as Kira managed to get a successful kick to the creature's chest, sending him flying back against the projector screen and tackled him again, once more, this time harder. The creature's black eyes stared back at him as Liam panted for breath as the boy's strange eyes cleared, returning back to their normal state, a dark brown.

Scott, Mason, and Brett all stared in silence as they tried to make sense of what had just happened. Kira, on the other hand, wasn't. Her eyes reverted to a bright orange as her aura flared up, her fox form illuminating on everyone's face.

She shouted something in Japanese and she swung her sword toward the boy's unconscious form before Scott shouted her name and quickly grabbed her wrist, stopping her just in time.

Liam was startled.

Kira gave Scott a glare as he gripped her wrist and they stared at each other until her fox aura faded away, looking quite confused as she glanced down at the katana in her hands and the boy - who Liam assumed must be Lucas, the boy Mason had been asking about - Lucas' unconscious body.

"Is everyone okay?" Scott demanded.

No one answered him. He didn't know how to answer him.

_What the hell just happened here? Why did Kira do that?_

The boy's clawed fingers began twitching and Scott noticed, looking down at him. "We need to get him out of here," he said, glancing at Liam. "Liam, give me a hand."

Liam bent over to help, gripping the boy's legs while Scott grabbed a hold of his arms. They began to lift him off the ground when out of nowhere, a spike appeared and shot through the middle of the boy's chest, blood spluttering out. In shock and in surprise, the two drop the body back onto the floor. Scott whirled around to see where the spike came from and Liam followed the spike's string, to where there, above the rafters and the lighting rig, stood three figures in masks.

_Just like Malia told us about, _Liam thought. The spike was reeled back into one of the contraptions the figure in front was holding in its hands.

"Why did you do that?" Scott asked, staring up at the figures. "Why did you do that?"

_Seriously, Scott?! That's the first thing you ask? They just killed him and that's what you ask?_

"His condition was terminal," the lead figure in front replied in a distorted voice.

"What does that mean?"

All the old sci-fi movies and books he'd read always told him what that meant: _It means failure._

As if echoing his thought, the answer from the lead figure was exactly the same: "Failure."

Liam blinked and the three figures in the masks disappeared in a sudden shower of sparks. Kira looked around and Liam glanced behind him to make sure that they weren't there. The rafters were empty. Pounding music and flashing disco lights still played on as nothing sinister had happened. But something had.

They glanced down at the body below them, unchanged from its supernatural form, claws and spikes still visible.

They were definitely going to have a field day with this, if word ever got out to the press. No one spoke.

"Oh my God."

Liam turned. Josephine was still huddled against the wall, staring at Lucas' dead body, looking visibly shaken. He went to her and knelt in front of her.

"Hey, we gotta go," he said gently. He glanced down and saw her hands shaking, ignoring the fear and adrenaline that was pumping inside him at the moment.

She shook her head vigorously, mumbling, "They just killed him. They just . . ."

"Scott." Liam spun around in the direction that the True Alpha was, pleading for help. Scott approached Josephine, kneeling next to his Beta.

"Josephine," Scott spoke, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We need to go. We gotta leave. We can't stay here."

"They just killed him," she repeated, her voice nearing to a whisper. "I shouldn't have come back. I shouldn't have - Oh, God. We're next. We're gonna be next."

"Josephine, we need to leave," Liam continued urgently. Liam glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one had entered through the entrance and also, to make sure the figures in masks weren't still lurking somewhere in the shadows. "Please."

Scott looked up at Liam as if wondering what he was doing, then gave a nod approvingly.

"We gotta go," he said again, his voice becoming harder a bit toward the end. He held out his hand, turning his head to see Mason helping Brett to his feet while Kira continued to stare at Lucas' body, then her hands, sparks skittering from her fingertips before fizzling out.

Something seemed to click in Josephine's mind, because she sucked in a deep breath, slowly exhaling. "Okay," she whispered after a long minute. She pushed herself onto her feet, grabbing Liam's hand into her own.

A strange noise ripped from the inside of her throat as Liam noticed her look at Lucas's dead body as they walked past, then Josephine covered her mouth. She turned herself away from him, stumbling forward as she retched. Nothing came out but Liam bent down to help. Saliva dripped from her mouth to the floor as she gagged, dry heaving. Liam felt sorry and somewhat guilty for leading her into this situation. Then again, _she_ had chose _not_ to back away from the fight when he'd told her that she didn't have to come.

He wasn't sure what he should do and awkwardly patted her back, attempting to clear her lungs from whatever was trying to come up her stomach.

"Get me out of here," she choked out, wiping her saliva on the back of her hand. He led her through the curtain and watched as she stumbled ahead of him, gasping frantically. Josephine pushed her way through the crowd of dancing and grinding bodies around her until someone accidentally bumped back into her, causing her to stagger forward to the floor. He hurried to help her up when the sight of Hayden caught his attention.

She was crouched down on the floor with a mini broom in one hand, while a dustpan was in the other as she swept the broken vials of glass into it. Her eyebrows frowned with curiosity as she glanced up into Liam's direction, then resumed her work after glaring toward him, presumingly about the broken vials. Liam tried to give her a sympathetic look as he tried to catch her attention to apologize, but she ignored him, mouth turned down distastefully and there was something else he couldn't pinpoint.

Was that . . . jealously?

He _did_ have his arm around Josephine as he continued to weave them both through the crowd toward the entrance, with Scott and Kira trying to discretely carry Lucas's body behind them. Liam was amazed that no one had started screaming yet. Then again, they were at a club and people were getting extremely drunk.

The wonders of Beacon Hills.

Liam threw the door open and Josephine sat down on the stone steps, holding her head in her hands, her breathing shaky as she sobbed.

Mason and Brett trailed out with Scott and Kira last. Brett clutched his bleeding stomach while Mason looked on worriedly.

"Mason, you okay?" Liam asked.

Mason nodded, meeting Liam's eyes before he turned back to Brett, eyes darting nervously. "He's gonna be okay, right? I mean, shouldn't he be healing now?"

Liam looked at Brett who was struggling to breathe as if it was hard for him. After all, he did get sliced by a were-scorpion boy. Brett shook his head ever so slightly. "I'm okay," he huffed out. "Just taking longer than usual."

But Liam could tell that it wasn't all right.

He looked around, seeing Scott on his cellphone, talking frantically to someone, probably his mother, Liam thought. Kira was trying to comfort Josephine as she babbled on nonsensically. And meanwhile, next to the dead body lying on the ground, Mason and Brett stared in horror at each other as they said nothing while Brett struggled to heal.

Scott ended the call on his phone and turned. He met Liam's eyes and he stepped toward him. "You all right? Are you hurt?" he asked, placing a hand on his Beta's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Liam lied. He didn't bother to hide it and he didn't care. Scott gave him a knowing look, but chose not to say anything.

"Mom's going to come pick us up," Scott rushed on, taking in the scene around him, staring down at the Chimera's body, then Brett and Mason, and finally Kira and Josephine.

Liam turned. Kira looked at Scott and gave him a sad smile while Josephine continued to calm down. She noticed the two werewolves watching and let out a strange hysterical, bubbling laugh, then went back to sobbing again.

Liam could understand that everyone had a different reaction to seeing someone die before their eyes. He didn't quite understand it himself.

The last person he'd actually seen die had been his grandfather but that didn't count, did it? La Iglesia didn't count either.

He supposed that he himself was in shock, that it hadn't quite settled in yet. That whoever the figures in masks had been - whoever they had been, they had killed Lucas right in front of the Pack without a care in the world.

As if they didn't care if they got caught.

Who were they?

He suspected that they were the force that they were suppose to be watching out for. The ones who were going to change the rules.

The ones who were suppose to be the storm.

Hell was coming.

* * *

**Here it is! I'm only assuming that Lucas' claws were werewolf claws and weren't poisonous while his spikes were. That's why he was able to choke Josephine. I based her freak out on Lucas's death based on a similar experience I ha****d in a dream. Don't worry, no one died but I had a somewhat of a breakdown when I woke up and couldn't cope to what I'd seen. It had seemed pretty realistic. Sometimes I really hate my dreams or nightmares I guess you can call them. But enough about that! ****Last night's episode didn't have any Liam or Mason or Hayden in it, so I figured why not wait to post until I saw the episode. Hopefully, "Required Reading" will have our favorite Beta and we will finally get to see Claudia! Squee~! Josephine's disappearance will be explained in the next (?) chapter. Can anyone guess why she left? And I just realized she cries a lot. Fuuuuu-**

**On another note, this will _not_ be a Hayden/Liam/OC love triangle! God knows I'm sick and tired of them. There will be Hayden/Liam romance, with Josephine having a tiny crush on him but Liam won't feel the same towards her. Hope that clears everything up somewhat.**

**SibunaGleekR5er: Here is your update! Glad you loved the Liam x Hayden moment! I've always considered that Liam had a crush on Hayden before he went and they did that "Sixth Grade Incident!" I hope you enjoyed the Liayden moments in this chapter!**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**_mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, amaliesofie, mactraverlive . com, Victoriareddick, allfandomslover, and SibunaGleekR5er._**


	9. Required Reading

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter IX**

_**Required Reading**_

**_oOo_**

_**"Was that Liam Dunbar? **_

_**He got cute."**_

**_oOo_**

Melissa had taken everyone to the hospital to get checked out for their wounds. Brett was healing finally, while Mason bit his lips worriedly as he paced anxiously by the werewolf's hospital bed.

Scott and Melissa had gone down to the morgue to deal with Lucas's body. Distantly, he heard them talking as he moved to see how Josephine was doing.

"You okay?"

Josephine gave him a glance as she looked up. She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm fine," she lied, fingers twitching at her throat. "You should be with your friends."

"I just checked up on them. Brett's healing. Mason's - well, Mason," Liam answered. "Did Lucas -"

"He didn't -" Her voice got choked up and she cleared her throat to start over. "The boy didn't scratch me or anything if that's what you're asking." She shuddered, putting her head in her hands, before she looked at him. "You're wondering where I've been, aren't you?"

"To be honest, yeah." He had. He wondered why she left while she had asked him to help her.

"Are you sure?" Josephine frowned. She seemed to be having second thoughts.

"Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He got up from the chair next to her and started to go toward Brett and Mason, when she stopped him.

"I left because it didn't seem fair to burden you with my arrival," she continued in a hard voice. "You seemed fine without me barging in so . . . I left. I went back home. And now apparently, I have another sister who had a daughter, and then she had a granddaughter -" She trailed off, a small laugh escaping from her. "They knew about the supernatural too somehow when I found them."

She seemed lost in thought.

"Um, so . . . you didn't -" _Go werewolf yet?_

"I didn't Turn. I could feel it . . . but nothing happened. Am I . . . a failure? Is there something wrong with me?"

"No," he began, searching for words. He recalled Scott's words. The masked figure's words to Scott came back to him.

_Failure_.

"It'll come," he told her gently. "It's just . . . being prolonged."

They retired to their homes, to the safe comfort to their beds, with Melissa letting Josephine stay with them on the couch.

He pulled on a pair of fresh clothes, putting his clothes in the washer, prayer that it would wash away Lucas's blood. Then he remembered Hayden.

He never did clean up his - their mess. Instead, she had to do it for him.

He cursed to himself, eyes wandering over the items in his room.

Immediately, he remembered the jar of money that he raked in over the summer, from previous jobs from Devenford by mowing lawns and collecting other people's bottle cans. He dashed under his bed, tossing aside random objects and old dirty clothes that had been forgotten. An old tin can had been shoved far to the back to where it had collected dust.

Pulling the can from its spot, he opened the top to see the last $31 dollars he'd saved. A sigh of relief escaped him and he tucked the wadded money into his jeans. He grabbed the other $12 dollars he'd tried to give Hayden that night from his dresser.

_Only $157 to go._

He headed downstairs and just prayed that Hayden was at the Sinema club when got there.

Luckily, according to the sign taped on the back door, it was an "All-Ages" night at the club. Liam opened the door and began searching for Hayden.

"My glowstick broke," a teenage boy was telling Hayden. He spotted her curly hair through the crowd of moving bodies, glow sticks wrapped around their limbs as they danced to the booming remixed beat of a song he'd recognized.

Her voice replied, "No, it ran out of glow. They don't last forever."

"Can I have my money back?"

He could sense the frustration rolling off of her as he pushed through a couple of people. "God, I hate "All-Ages Night"," she muttered.

Liam spotted her as she turned to another direction, quickly reached into his jeans and pulled out the wadded money. "$43 dollars," he announced to her.

"I said I don't want your money," she said, glaring at him. She wore a couple pair of yellow glow stick bracelets around her arms: yellow and blue.

"You said I owed you $200," he insisted, wishing already that she would just take it as he waved the money in his hand toward her.

"Liam," Hayden started, frustration creeping into her voice. Probably annoyed that he didn't listen to her. "Just forget it . . ."

He stared at her when all of a sudden, the power shut off, encasing the room in darkness, except for the glowsticks illuminating on everyone as they cheered wildly, happily pumping their glowsticks in the air. Whoops filled the air.

The glow stick tray Hayden held on her hand shined light on her face. "Perfect."

He followed her to the back room to where the breaker was. He called her name as he walked closely behind her, desperate to get her attention. "Hayden. Hayden!"

She turned to face him, irritation crossing over her features. "I gotta be honest, Liam. If you're trying to be a good guy, I don't care."

"I'm just trying to make up for the Sixth Grade," he told her as she turned back around. _Hayden, please listen to me!_

"_Nothing_ will make up for the Sixth Grade." She turned her head back to look at him, hand on the lever in front of her. Hayden flipped the switch. Electricity powered back on and the buzzing of it filled the area. Music blared back to life. Liam watched as she began to flip the lever above her, but it seemed to be stuck. Hayden grunted as she tried to move it, but nothing happened. She was obviously struggling with it, too stubborn to ask Liam for help.

"_Come on!"_ she hissed between her teeth. Finally, he reached up from behind her, placed his right hand over hers, and helped pushed the lever up. The close proximity of their bodies almost being pressed up against one another sent a wave of goosebumps surging through Liam.

God, he wanted to touch her but he quickly backed up before he could act upon it. She looked confused as if asking herself why she would help him.

"You want to keep hating me. Go for it," he told her, staring into her eyes, forcing her to keep eye contact. "You said I owe you $200. So, it's $43 more." He thrust the money he held in his left hand toward her, hoping that she would finally accept it.

And she did, almost hesitatingly. As he walked away, passing through the silvery confetti curtain that was playing _Night of the Living Dead_, he was proud of himself for at least getting something done with Hayden tonight.

At least, one good thing happened tonight after all the defeat and chaos that had taken place earlier.

No nightmares came that night. Liam wasn't so sure if he was grateful for that. What if the dreams were telling him something important that he shouldn't ignore?

Something that could lead to the answer to whoever the masked figures were?

He would probably never figure out since he drifted off to sleep.

**_oOo_**

He'd asked Mason to come to his lacrosse practice earlier that day.

Well technically, it was split between lacrosse _and_ soccer practice. The people on the soccer teams were sharing the field as they played and practiced for their upcoming games.

He could see Brett also sitting by his best friend, wearing a Devenford Prep uniform. He always hated those clothes. He was so glad he didn't go to that school anymore. As he threw a couple of practice swings, he could hear Brett and Mason chattering in the background while up high on the bleachers. He knew that they knew he could hear him and they seemed to enjoy that.

Hayden was wearing a Nike crop top and tight black pants along with it. Liam couldn't help but stare when she bent down to pick up a soccer ball, twisting and turning the lacrosse stick in his hands.

She definitely had curves in all the right places.

She turned her head back toward him, glaring at him accusingly. He was about to look away but decided against it, keeping his gaze.

Her face relaxed as her foot poised against the soccer ball, knowing full well that he was watching. He didn't remember if he'd actually seen her play.

"I don't know, dude," Brett was saying to Mason. "Everyone at Devenford looks pretty abnormal to me."

"All right. What else is there to look for? There's heightened strength, smell, hearing, speed . . ."

"Uh, able to see in the dark," Brett interrupted.

"Glowing eyes," Mason continued, trying to think of every possibility.

"Eyes that reflect the light."

"Visible scorpion stingers protruding out of limbs?"

"Yeah. Or three foot lizard tails," Brett finished, earning a chuckle from Mason.

Liam glanced out of the corner of his eyes, seeing them, their conversation momentarily distracting him from his shot at the goal. The ball flew to the right, not even going nowhere near the goal, passing it.

He grunted in frustration, in disbelief and anger that he had missed it, looking around to see if anyone had noticed his loss. Hayden grinned at this, seeing the defeat on his face, soccer ball held in her hands, tossing it up and down as she went. He watched as her leg came flying up as she placed the ball on the ground, her foot connecting the ball to where it landed successfully in the net.

_What?_

He felt her being elated, seeing her happiness at this. She shot him a look that screamed an unspoken challenge: _Beat that._

_Oh, she thinks she's better than me? Beginner's luck._

Liam picked another ball, throwing it into his lacrosse net, exhaling deeply as he went, the ball sailing over his shoulder, to where it finally landed in the goal. He turned back to face her, grinning cockily. Her face dropped, frustration seeping into her scent. Liam watched in disbelief as yet again, she scored another goal.

_You wanna go? Fine then. Two can play at this game. _

Anger pulsed through him as he threw another ball, watching as it landed in the net. Liam would not let Hayden Romero beat him. Lacrosse was _his_ game and soccer was hers. But if she wanted a challenge, she would get it. Whatever had happened last night, the kindness he showed her was gone.

He turned his head back toward her, jaw clenching. _You _will _not beat me, Romero!_

Hayden landed another ball in the goal.

Liam gritted his teeth together, grabbing another ball, heaving the small object as hard as he could toward the goal, anger and determination gnawing at him. The force of the ball sent the goalie flying back against the net with a yelp and Liam realized what he had done. He was letting Hayden get the best of him, letting her bring out his competitive side.

_Shit. _He immediately knew he had screwed up. "Sorry!" he called out, berating himself as he went to help the lacrosse player to his feet.

"What's up with those two?" He heard Brett ask and he prayed to God that Mason wouldn't spill. But he did.

"Sixth Grade," Mason replied. "That's not the best year for Liam's anger management issues."

_Thank you so much for reminding me, Mason!_

"There was a . . . This fight in the hallways. Liam and this other guy," continued Mason. "Hayden sort of accidentally walked into it. And this is her yearbook photo."

_Why the hell do you still have our yearbook photos from Sixth freaking Grade, Mason?! _He immediately looked toward them sitting in the bleachers, trying to send a mental message to Mason to not do it.

"Ah, damn." Brett said with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah."

"Ow. What did she do to him?" Mason must've shown him his picture because next thing he knew, he heard them both laughing as if it was the most hilarious thing in the world.

He hadn't meant to hit her. But she'd suddenly appeared and it was too late to stop it. Then next thing he knew, he was lying on the ground, nose bleeding profusely on where she'd socked him. That girl could most definitely carry a punch, he knew.

A boy came racing onto the field, out of breath, yelling frantically, "Does anyone here have asthma? Anyone got an inhaler?"

He was confused at first. Then, he realized who it was. "Scott."

He yelled out that he did, racing into the school toward the nurse's office. Scott said he didn't have one, that he didn't need it anymore since he had become a werewolf. He said that he didn't keep one in his locker. But the school must've kept an extra one, right? Since they had no clue he was a werewolf. Everyone thought Scott still had asthma.

He pulled open cabinets, ripped open drawers until he finally spotted one. He grabbed it, heading into the direction where his former Alpha was lying. Racing down the hallway at full speed, he could hear Scott wheezing. It didn't seem right with Liam. Scott was strong. He would make it.

Then he realized Scott was in deep trouble. Scott would die if he didn't reach him in time.

He couldn't that happen.

"I got it!" he yelled. He forced his way past the surrounding students blocking the door. "I got the inhaler!"

He stumbled toward Scott, who was lying against the teacher's desk, wheezing and gasping, breaths coming out slow and strange. He quickly pressed the inhaler into Scott's hand.

"Scott."

He knew he should've done it himself and put the inhaler to Scott's mouth and press the little button on top. But he was panicking and wasn't exactly in his right mind.

_Come on, Scott._

He shook the Alpha's shoulder, trying to rouse him, to help snap out of his state. He knew he shouldn't have, but he leaned his head toward Scott, letting his eyes quickly turn golden before they faded again, commanding in his Beta voice:

"_Scott." _

Scott jerked to life, gasping and staring toward Liam. He noticed the inhaler in his hand and urgently pressed it to his lips, emitting a puff from the inhaler. His breaths evened and returned to normal, with Scott panting as he looked to Liam gratefully.

"Thanks."

He nodded like it was no big deal. But it was. Because if he hadn't reached his friend in time . . . Scott might've died.

Liam breathed out a soft sigh of relief as they sat for a few more minutes as Scott tried to catch his breath. He thought he could smell Hayden. but when he turned to look at the door, she wasn't there, so he brushed it aside, thinking that it was his imagination. Finally, he helped Scott to his feet and took him down to the nurse's office as Mrs. Finch's request. Scott had the rest of the day off, so he told Liam to stay in school while he visited Melissa at the hospital to tell her the incident about what had occurred.

After he changed back into his normal clothes, he walked upstairs outside the school, to where his Science class was held on the second floor.

He could smell Hayden's perfume coming his way. It was jasmine mixed in . . . with something else. Don't ask him how he knew that.

"Oh, come on," Hayden said with a light laugh. Liam wondered who she was talking to. "You were suppose to be waiting in the parking lot."

Another female voice entered his hearing range and he assumed it was her sister, Clarke, who worked at the police station with Sheriff Stilinski. "And you're supposed to be embarrassed by your parents, not your sister. By the way, guess where I found this?"

He couldn't help but notice the prescription bottle Clarke held in her hand as he started to maneuver around them. "In your jeans about to go into the laundry. Do I have to remind you, one bottle costs $200?"

_Whoa, what? Did she just say $200? Is that what the money is for?_

"Sorry," Hayden murmured. He glanced back, earning a glare from her, noticing him.

"What?" she snapped.

"Nothing." He scratched the back of his head nervously as he walked away.

"Was that Liam Dunbar?" Clarke's voice echoed from behind him. "He got cute."

A smirk spread across his face.

_Hell, yeah._

Liam couldn't help but wonder though. Did Hayden like Liam and was just talking about him the whole time to her sister?

Did Hayden like him?

Nah. She'd sworn vengeance upon him.

After school, he went directly to the Sinema club, to get Hayden to accept the rest of his money.

Phil, the bartender was speaking to a guy when he followed Hayden, trying to get her attention. "_Well, the base pays crap, but with tips, you can make to a grand in one night." _

"Liam, please stop," Hayden murmured as she set down lit candles for later that night.

"_Let's see what you got." _

"I promise I'll pay you back," Liam insisted.

"_Maybe less. $25."_

"It doesn't matter now. And Phil takes half of it anyway." Hayden disappeared behind the silver confetti curtain and he went with her, watching as she set down her tray.

"I know it's for your medication so please just take the money," he spoke with urgency.

"No, it wasn't your fault."

"I punched you in the face," he reminded her.

Hayden gave him a look for a minute before it disappeared. "I meant the shots," she said with a light laugh, smiling.

_Well, duh_. "Oh."

Hayden watched him as she spilled out what her medicine was for. "It's for mycophenolate," she explained, looking slightly ashamed. "It's for a kidney transplant I had a few years ago. I work here so my sister doesn't have to pay for all of it."

He was quiet, nodding as he understood. He wasn't sure what to say after _that_, so he just kept his mouth shut, clenching his jaw.

"Now, can you just forget about it?" she asked, giving him a pleading look. "I'll make it back somehow."

He followed her back into the main room, just on the side, while Phil and the other guy stood at the bar, talking. "Does Phil really take half?" he wondered aloud.

Hayden scoffed, turning to look as she set another candle down, holding her tray on one arm. "And never stops bragging about it. Just listen to him."

He frowned. _What? _He dipped his head, letting his werewolf hearing take over.

"_It's not like they're gonna do anything. They're all under the table and too young to be selling alcohol anyway."_

Liam froze for a second, before he turned back to Hayden. She could've never had heard them if they were speaking across the room in lowered voices. She wouldn't have heard them if she had had normal hearing. He hesitated. "Hayden. Can I ask you to do something else for me?"

Hayden had set down her tray, giving him a confused glance as he stepped closer to her, nearing closer to the table. "What?" she asked.

"Close your eyes."

She gave him a look of incredulous disbelief, like she couldn't believe he was asking her this. "Are you kidding?"

"_Please?" _He needed to know. He _had_ to know.

"No . . ." she insisted.

"Just 2 seconds. I swear I'm not gonna do anything," he told her honestly.

"Why?" she sputtered, still not understanding.

"All you have to do is close your eyes for 3 seconds."

Hayden squinted her eyes. She corrected him almost immediately. "You said 2."

"Okay, it was 3," he said. "3 at the most."

She hesitated, as if realizing he wasn't joking and slowly closed her eyes.

Liam glanced down at the table, grabbing a unopened glowstick from its pile, holding it in both of his hands.

"This is stupid," she muttered.

"Just one second," he told her. The glowstick clicked as he snapped it into two and began to glow green. _What if I'm wrong? _He stared down at the glowstick in his hands before deciding to go through with it, slowly holding glowstick up against the side of her face, hoping and praying that he was wrong. That she wasn't a Chimera. That hopefully she was just another supernatural who didn't know that she had had powers yet.

"Okay," he finally instructed her. "Open them."

Hayden opened them and it took all of his willpower not to scream in anger. Her eyes were an eerie color, a pale dark emerald color, clouding over her pupils like she was blind. It reminded him of a cat's eyes, when their eyes reflected the light whatever time of day or night. Liam looked down and then back to her relaxed face, her strange eyes staring back at him, completely oblivious to what he was seeing. But he knew one thing and one thing only.

He was going to do _whatever_ it would take to save Hayden - even if it meant dying with his last breath - he was still going to save her.

**I have no idea how to describe soccer/football or lacrosse or how it works. I tried my best. I don't play sports and try not to participate in them, so . . . . yeah. On another note, omg! Monday's episode was so beautiful and yet so sad! We had Stiles' memory and we finally saw his mom, Claudia! Lydia saw her grandmother dead in a bathtub,and Scott had . . . his dog, Roxy killed (I think) by another dog? *sobs* Theo is still evil as evil and blackmailed Stiles with Donovan! And we finally got to the bottom of the Hayden/Liam feud!**

**SibunaGleekR5er: Well, we got Liayden moments in "Required Reading"! Whoo-hoo! And from the looks of it, so does 5x07, "Strange Frequencies"!**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**_mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, amaliesofie, mactraverlive . com, Victoriareddick, allfandomslover, and SibunaGleekR5er._**


	10. Strange Frequencies

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter X**

_**Strange Frequencies**_

**_oOo_**

_**"What am I?"**_

_**"You're Hayden."**_

**_oOo_**

_After school, he went directly to the Sinema club, to get Hayden to accept the other $15 dollars he'd found._

_Phil, the bartender was speaking to a guy when he followed Hayden, trying to get her attention. "Well, the base pays crap, but with tips, you can make to a grand in one night." _

"_Liam, please stop," Hayden murmured as she set down lit candles for later that night._

"_Let's see what you got." _

"_I promise I'd pay you back," Liam insisted. _

"_Maybe less. $25."_

"_It doesn't matter now. And Phil takes half of it anyway." Hayden disappeared behind the silver confetti curtain and he went with her, watching as she set down her tray._

"_I know it's for your medication so please just take the money," he spoke with urgency._

"_No, it wasn't your fault." _

"_I punched you in the face," he reminded her._

_Hayden gave him a look for a minute before it disappeared. "I meant the shots," she said with a light laugh, smiling._

_Well, duh. "Oh."_

_Hayden watched him as she spilled out what her medicine was for. "It's for mycophenolate," she explained, looking slightly ashamed. "It's for a kidney transplant I had a few years ago. I work here so my sister doesn't have to pay for all of it."_

_He was quiet, nodding as he understood. He wasn't sure what to say after that, so he just kept his mouth shut, clenching his jaw._

"_Now, can you just forget about it?" she asked, giving him a pleading look. "I'll make it back somehow."_

_He followed her back into the main room, just on the side, while Phil and the other guy stood at the bar, talking. "Does Phil really take half?" he wondered aloud. _

_Hayden scoffed, turning to look as she set another candle down, holding her tray on one arm. "And never stops bragging about it. Just listen to him."_

_He frowned. What? He dipped his head, letting his werewolf hearing take over. _

"_It's not like they're gonna do anything. They're all under the table and too young to be selling alcohol anyway."_

_Liam froze for a second, before he turned back to Hayden. She could've never had heard them if they were speaking across the room in lowered voices. He hesitated. "Hayden. Can I ask you to do something else for me?"_

_Hayden had set down her tray, giving him a confused glance as he stepped closer to her, nearing closer to the table. "What?" she asked._

"_Close your eyes."_

_She gave him a look of incredulous disbelief, like she couldn't believe he was asking her this. "Are you kidding?"_

"_Please?" He needed to know. He had to know. _

"_No . . ." she insisted. _

"_Just 2 seconds. I swear I'm not gonna do anything," he told her honestly._

"_Why?" she sputtered, still not understanding._

"_All you have to do is close your eyes for 3 seconds."_

_Hayden squinted her eyes. She corrected him almost immediately. "You said 2."_

"_Okay, it was 3," he said. "3 at the most."_

_She hesitated, as if realizing he wasn't joking and slowly closed her eyes. _

_Liam glanced down at the table, grabbing a unopened glowstick from its pile, holding it in both of his hands. _

"_This is stupid," she muttered. _

"_Just one second," he told her. The glowstick clicked as he snapped it into two and began to glow green. What if I'm wrong? He stared down at the glowstick in his hands before deciding to go through with it, slowly holding glowstick up against the side of her face, hoping and praying that he was wrong. That she wasn't a Chimera. That hopefully she was just another supernatural who didn't know that she had powers yet._

"_Okay," he finally instructed her. "Open them."_

_Hayden opened them and it took all of his willpower not to scream in anger. Her eyes were an eerie color, a pale dark emerald color, clouding over her pupils like she was blind. It reminded him of a cat's eyes, when their eyes reflected the light whatever time of day or night. Liam looked down and then back to her relaxed face, her strange eyes staring back at him, completely oblivious to what he was seeing. But he knew one thing and one thing only._

_He was going to do whatever it would take to save Hayden - even if it meant dying with his last breath - he was still going to save her._

But apparently, she didn't like that.

He tried to explain as best as he could. About the Dread Doctors, about werewolves . . . all of it.

"Hayden . . ." he called after her as he followed her out the back door. "Hayden, wait."

She turned to him. "Asking me to close my eyes was weird. Sticking a glow stick in my face, even weirder. But werewolves and dead doctors?"

"Dread Doctors," he corrected her.

She gave him an exasperated look. "Whatever. Get away from me."

She opened the door to her car and Liam quickly tried to figure how how he was going to keep her here, to make her listen to him."What if I could prove it to you?" he asked.

"Prove what?"

Before he could change his mind, he answered, "This."

He dipped his head and transformed, feeling the canines in his mouth, feeling the flare of strength pulse through him, eyes shining golden. He let out a growl - maybe it was a roar? - but he didn't know what possessed him to do that. She took one look at him, her face falling into a terrified expression as she let loose a scream. Her hand shot out immediately, curling into a fist, slamming into Liam's nose as he fell back to the ground in surprise, blood spluttering out. He groaned in pain as he heard her scramble to get into her car as the door slammed shut. Hayden drove off, tires squealing.

_Ah, fuck. She just punched me! Again!_

"Ow," he groaned, feeling the pain streak through his nose as it slowly repaired. Once it finally healed, he staggered to his feet, wiping the blood away.

He sighed. He knew that he'd probably deserved that, though. _I really did not think this through. Great. Am I going to have to chase after her now? _

A part of him didn't want to. But on the other hand, he knew he had to. If Hayden was a Chimera, then that meant that she'd be next and the Dread Doctors would come after her.

Liam couldn't have that.

Before he could get himself distracted, he decided that he was going to do it. He ran, legs pumping, arms swinging back and forth as he searched for her, breathing heavily.

He spotted her car on the side of the road and for a second, he feared that they had already come and grabbed her. That they'd already come and taken her.

Until he heard her scream.

In the distance, he could see three figures in steampunk gear slowly approaching. They had names, according to everyone else who had read the book.

_The Surgeon. The Pathologist. The Geneticist. _

Without hesitation, he jumped on top of Hayden's car, smashing the sunroof, glass shattering everywhere. He tossed the sunroof aside, holding his hand out to her. "Come on!" he shouted, looking over his shoulder. She grabbed a hold of his hand and he pulled her out, both of them landing on their feet as they raced for their lives, away from the Dread Doctors. He gripped her hand tightly against his, pulling her along.

The Dread Doctors walked extremely slow. When Liam looked back, they were gone. He considered stopping to catch their breath, but decided against it, thinking that the Dread Doctors might pop out again. He went into the first place he could think of.

Scott's house.

He found the extra key above the door frame and unlocked the door, quickly ushering them both in and locked the door behind them.

"They - they kept saying '_Your condition improves._'" Hayden stammered, breathing heavily. She looked up at him with wide eyes. "What does that mean?"

When he didn't reply, her voice rose, panic spreading through it. "_What does that mean, Liam?!"_

Liam shook his head. "I don't know." He pulled out his phone from his pocket, then glanced at Hayden. "Look, I'm going to call Scott. He can handle this. He'll know what to do. Okay?"

She didn't answer. He turned away from her and shot a quick text toward Scott, telling him that details of Hayden.

That she was a Chimera.

When he turned back, she was gone. He heard her footsteps thudding against the wooden floor on the second floor. He dashed up the stairs, seeing Hayden run into Scott's room. She slammed the door in his face. The doorknob turned effortlessly in his hand as he looked around wildly, before realizing that she was in the bathroom.

Liam realized that she had purposely locked herself in the bathroom. Probably to avoid looking at him.

He'd knocked on the door, trying to coax her out, promising that everything was okay. That it was safe.

Hell, he knew they probably weren't, but that had slipped out nonetheless. But Hayden still wouldn't come out.

Scott finally arrived with Stiles in tow.

"Hayden's in the bathroom," he told them. "She won't come out."

Scott gently rapped on the bathroom door with the back of his hand. "Hayden?" he began. "It's Scott. I know that you're scared, but we just . . . We want to help."

There was no reply.

Scott turned toward Liam. "I can hear her heart beating," he told him. "She's really freaked out. What happened?"

"She was okay when we got here. I went to text you for two seconds and she locked herself in," Liam explained.

"Why?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know."

Scott watched him as he asked, "She's definitely a Chimera?"

"She said she heard a voice saying, _"Your condition improves."_"

Scott shared a glance with Stiles.

"Okay, that's unsettling," the human murmured. Stiles stepped forward to the bathroom door. "Hayden," he called as he knocked."This is Stiles. Your sister works for my dad down at the station. Look, just open the door, okay? You can trust us."

Still no answer from Hayden as Stiles took a step back.

"We just need to tell you the truth, Hayden," Scott declared. "And that kind of thing usually is better face-to-face. Listen, either you're gonna unlock the door or I'm gonna have to break it open. It's okay if you don't want to talk, or if you're not ready to believe us. But I just . . . I gotta know that you're okay in there."

_Please, come out, Hayden. Please,_ Liam thought. _If you won't do it for me, at least do it for Scott._

The door unlocked and creaked open. Scott pushed the door open with his free hand to reveal a transformed Hayden. Her eyes glowed a golden color, just like Liam's. Her teeth were replaced with canines. She stared at her claws in horror before she raised her head, panting. "I believe you," she mustered out, her frightened eyes staring back at them.

**_oOo_**

"Don't say anything to your sister," Liam said the next morning. "At least, not yet."

Hayden looked at him as they walked into the entrance to the school. "I told her I was at a friend's," she said. "God, I hate lying to her."

"When all of this is over, you can choose to tell her. You don't have to, but it's a little bit easier when they're in the know." He stopped talking, realizing that he was quoting _Stiles_, out of all people.

They quickly jolted into the plan. Malia was going to patrol the main entrance, while Scott, Lydia, Hayden, and Liam were going to barricade themselves in the locker room. Parrish was going to be patrolling outside. Only moments earlier, they had placed the modified cell phone jammers that Parrish had provided them in their respective spots.

"Can you help me with this?"

Hayden and Liam dragged a locker rack in front of the door, blocking it. Liam looked toward Scott as Scott looked back. Lydia walked over to Scott, talking in lowered voices. He didn't want to eavesdrop so Liam turned his attention back to Hayden, who was currently staring at herself in the mirror, hands clutching the rim of the sink.

"Don't worry," he said after a moment. "You learn to control it."

She met his eyes in the mirror, not turning around. "I'm not like you. I wasn't bitten by a wolf. I was . . . somebody's science experiment. This is so bizarre."

Liam paused, nodding his head in understanding. He searched carefully for his next words. "I know, but you're gonna be okay. I promise."

"What am I?"

Liam's eyes wandered over her face in the reflection. _What are you? You're just Hayden._ "You're Hayden," he told her simply.

She met his eyes and smiled, blushing as she looked down. Finally, she turned her head, looking at him standing beside her. "By the way, if you get me out of this, I'll forget all about the sixth grade."

Liam grinned happily. _Well, that's a start. It's better than nothing. _

They spent the next few minutes gazing into each other's eyes as then she looked away, back to the mirror.

"Scott?" Liam heard Lydia say. "I was just thinking since we can't use our phones, we can't check in on Stiles and Theo."

"I didn't even think about that," Scott admitted.

"Me either," the Banshee confessed. "So we're standing here waiting for guys in masks and breathing tubes to show up. But who - or what - are Stiles and Theo waiting for?"

**_oOo_**

Liam hoped that Stiles was doing all right.

He didn't trust that bastard, Theo, either. There was something off about him, but Liam couldn't place it.

But Theo Raeken was definitely a shady little mother-

_Whoa. Where'd that come from?_

Liam and Hayden were tired of standing so Liam suggested sitting down by the lockers. She sat next to him, so, so close . . .

He wanted to kiss her. Her head nuzzled against his shoulder as she closed her eyes. Liam sucked in a deep breath.

_Ah, shit. She's leaning on me! What do I do?! What do I do?! Scott, help me here! Do I put my arm around her? Do I like - ugh, something? Oh, God. Okay. Play it cool, Dunbar. Play it cool. It's just Hayden._

Liam felt butterflies in his stomach. Was that even the case? On second thought, was it wolf-erflies? Since you know, they were wolves? His heart pumped wildly in his chest, his blood thundering in his ears with each heartbeat.

He glanced up.

His eyes landed on the black duffelbag lying forgotten on a bench in front of him. Scott had brought it in with him. He had never said what it was for.

He shifted slightly, careful not to disturb Hayden as he walked toward the lonely bench. Stepping closer, he bent down and unzipped the bag to reveal . . .

He froze. _Chains? _

Why would Scott have chains? He reached in the bag and pulled them out, holding the long silver chains in his hands, looking back toward Scott, demanding an answer. "What were you going to do with these?"

"Brought them just in case."

"In case of what?" Liam said.

Lydia turned on her spot on her bench. She looked toward him. "In case we had a chance to catch one of them," she explained.

Scott stepped toward Liam. "If we can't make the school a fortress, then maybe we can make it a trap."

_What? _He thought he understood what they were saying. "They're coming for her, doesn't that mean she's the bait?"

Scott opened his mouth, then closed it. He turned his head toward Hayden, who was frowning upon being rudely awakened.

Liam slammed the chains back into the bag angrily. He couldn't believe it. Scott was using _his_ girl for bait.

"Liam, we brought her here to protect her," Lydia started, walking to Scott's side.

"That's _bullshit_!" he growled. "And now she's bait."

"Am I?"

No," Scott replied immediately. "No one's bait. But we can't be bodyguards to everyone every night."

"Then why aren't we talking to Stiles' dad? Why aren't we doing something better than hiding in a school?"

"Because we still don't know anything about them or what they want, okay? They're winning and we don't even know what the game is."

"What if they come in here and those things don't work?" Liam asked, his voice rising. Anger surged through him. He was angry that Scott and the others hadn't bothered telling him about the rest of the plan. He was angry that Scott had thought of using Hayden as bait. "What if you have an asthma attack again? What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know -"

"_This plan sucks!"_ Liam hissed, voice nearing to a shout.

"You got a better one?" Scott snapped, shouting. Liam backed down, staring at him in surprise. "Kids are dying! And she's next." Liam met Hayden's concerned gaze as Scott continued shouting, his jaw clenching as he listened. "So, _somebody_ has to do something. _Somebody_ has to save everyone. SO_,_ _SOMEBODY'S_ GOT TO BE THE _BAIT!"_

The True Alpha's voice lingered in the air. No one spoke. Liam immediately felt bad. But he had to protect Hayden. Surely, Scott could understand that.

But then, he thought of Paige.

Allison.

Liam sighed heavily. He walked closer to his Alpha, lowering his voice. "Scott," he whispered. He forced his friend to keep eye contact with him. "Promise me you'll do _everything_ you can to save her."

Scott looked like he was about to object to that when he cut in urgently.

"Scott. _Promise_."

Scott stared back at him. He hesitated. "I'll do everything I can. I promise."

"Guys . . ." Hayden's voice called out. They turned to see Hayden digging through her bag as she looked toward them in fear. "I think I might need a little help right now. I forgot my pills. I have a bottle in my locker. I can get them, but . . ." she trailed off.

"I'll get them," Scott said, looking to Liam before he turned his eyes back on her. "What's your combination?"

Lydia and Scott pulled the locker away from the door. "Hurry," Lydia said. "I'll keep watch."

Minutes went by. Scott still hadn't come back. Neither had Lydia, which was weird since she was standing by the door.

Liam glanced toward Hayden, who wore a worried expression on his face.

It shouldn't be taking this long. Hayden's locker wasn't that far.

He turned his head as he heard a weird chittering sound. "Hayden, did you hear that?"

"They're here," she asked as he turned to look at her. "Aren't they? They're in the school."

"Scott?" he called out softly, edging closer to the door. "Malia?"

The door opened. It definitely wasn't Scott or Malia.

One of the Dread Doctors stood there instead. The Pathologist.

Liam backed up quickly, holding his arm out to protect Hayden as the Dread Doctor walked in, with the other two filing in after.

The one standing before them took his cane - stick? - and knocked the cell phone jammer to the ground. The Surgeon placed its cane on top of the jammer, before saying in a distorted voice, "We are on a frequency you can't possibly imagine."

The jammer shattered under the brute force of the cane as it drove down.

They grabbed him - them - like they weighed nothing. Hayden screamed, twisting in the Dread Doctor's grasp while Liam fought to do the same. Then, he blinked and they were somewhere else.

They dragged Hayden away from him as he screamed her name, taking her in an adjacent room. One of the Dread Doctors stood over him, blocking his view of Hayden as the Doctor hooked his arm up to a machine of some sort, connecting a black tube with a needle inside. It seemed to be drawing his blood seeing red spinning in the glass container in front of him. Liam fought to move. He realized that he couldn't move his body, only his head.

Where was Hayden? Where was she?

He heard Hayden's terrified screams coming from the adjacent room before they suddenly cut off.

His eyes widened. His mouth opened in a scream: "_NO!"_

The Dread Doctor raised its foot and slammed the heavy boot into Liam's head, knocking him unconscious.

When he came to, he was aware of a figure standing over him with the body shape of a girl. For a brief hopeful second, he believed that it was Hayden, that she had gotten away from the Dread Doctors grasp and had now come to free him.

So that they could escape from this place.

It wasn't.

"Josephine?" he choked out, confused. He blinked. He had to be hallucinating. "You're not here. I'm just -"

He felt her hand sharply jerk his head up as her fingers curled in his hair when she bent down to his level.

"Oh, no," she hissed in his face. She let his head go abruptly. His head dropped back to the cement floor with a loud _thunk_, like it was a heavy stone. "Honey, I'm _very_ much here."

"Wha -? Where's Hayden?"

Josephine stared down at him, narrowing her eyes. "You know. I really don't care right now. Let's talk about you."

She got down next to him and sat criss-crossed directly in front of his face, still blocking his view of the room next to him.

_Where's Hayden?_ He couldn't hear anything and he was panicking. "Where's H-"

"Hayden. Hayden. Hayden. Is she all you ever gonna talk about? Talk about a trip for biscuits." She gave a strange chuckle, then composed herself, giving a cold look. "Y'all never seem that very interested in me. I mean, is it all that often that you come across a girl like me? Frozen forever since 1939? God, honestly. No wonder Scott's behind the grind."

_What? _Liam couldn't make sense of what Josephine was saying. It must've showed on his face because she rolled her eyes and muttered, "Twit."

She leaned forward, eyes glinting maliciously. "When I was gone, did you wonder where I was? Or any of you for that matter? No? Of course not. You see, when I was gone . . . they came for me. They took me and - and they . . . did something to me. _You_ were suppose to help me with my lycanism, Liam. Instead, _you_ ditched me for _her_. As if it already wasn't bad enough that my boyfriend killed me -"

"Your -? You said you didn't know who killed you!"

"Well, I didn't," she said, her eyes far away drifting. "I . . . didn't." She sounded a little confused before she blinked and the cold glare returned. "But yeah, he did. And now, I'm determined to find him and repay the favor."

She slowly got up. Liam could see a flimsy door was closed over the adjacent room. But he still see a silhouette lying on a table.

She turned.

A million thoughts ran through his head and he blurted them out. "If you help me and Hayden, Scott and the others, we'll find him for you. We'll -"

"Scott won't do _shit_!" she snapped back, whirling, pointing a finger at him. "I've been here for at least a week since my awakening, and Scott hasn't shown me anything that tells me he remotely _deserves_ the title of True Alpha. Which begs the question: what the hell is _so_ _fucking_ special about Scott McCall?! You asked him to protect you, to protect _Hayden_, and where the hell is he now? He's not coming, Liam. He broke your promise to save you and - and _her_!"

"You're wrong," he hissed out. "Whatever _they_ told you, it's wrong."

Josephine snorted. "Hmm. Well, was it wrong when my boyfriend lured me out in the middle of the night to kill me? Was it wrong that Paige and Allison Argent deserved to die? Was it wrong when Scott bit you the moment at the hospital?"

How did she know all of that? Did one of the Pack tell her that when he wasn't around? He couldn't afford to think like that. "Please," he managed for the last time. "Help us. Scott will understand. For whatever reason, you're doing this, he'll understand. Just . . . help us."

She looked at him for a moment, narrowing her eyes. "Nice try."

He wanted to screamed in frustration as she quickly stormed out of the room, shutting the door after her, unable to still get a glimpse of the room across of him.

He'd failed.

He'd failed to protect Hayden.

To protect himself.

To hell, even negotiate with Josephine, to convince her to let them escape. He didn't understand why she was here. Nothing made sense.

After what seemed like a long torturous hour, heavy footsteps returned and the flimsy sliding door violently slammed open.

Was it a Dread Doctor?

Josephine stormed toward him, bending down with a ring of keys in her hands. She bent down, trying to unlock the black tube around his forearm. "I swear to God," she muttered, glancing at him with the corner of her eye. "You're gonna be the death of me. Why are there so many fucking keys?!"

Behind the room, he could see clearly now. Hayden was lying faced down on the black exam table underneath her, her head facing his, her eyes wide with fear. He mouthed to her that it was okay.

Then Josephine froze. Her eyes darted down to Liam and she bent down and kissed his forehead. When she pulled away, her eyes stared into Liam's before whispering, "Why'd you have to be so damn handsome?"

She stood up, facing the three Dread Doctors, quickly stuffing the ring of keys into her back pocket to where it disappeared from sight. Liam was sure that the Dread Doctors hadn't been there a second ago.

"I was making sure he wasn't escaping," Josephine said calmly. "He was trying to escape, you know? And you know -"

The lead Doctor suddenly blurred and materialized in front of Josephine, lifting her off the floor, grabbing her by the throat. The Pathologist undid the sword from its disguise as a cane, handing it to the Surgeon.

The distorted voice floated out from behind the Surgeon's mask. "Condition terminal."

"_No, wait -!" _

The Surgeon plunged the sword through Josephine's stomach, the edge of it dripping blood, passing through. The sword was swiftly removed and then Liam watched as the Surgeon flung Josephine into the room where Hayden was lying. Josephine crumbled to the ground as she hit the wall, landing face-down.

She stirred weakly and began crawling toward the stairs just behind Hayden. The Dread Doctors trailed after her. They seemed to be waiting, it seemed, while she painstakingly continued pulling herself against the floor, her blood smearing under the weight of her body. Liam saw Josephine stretched an arm out as if she was reaching for someone.

No one was in front of her.

"Jesse," she cried. "Help me! Help -"

The Surgeon stood over dying girl and drove the sword into her back repeatedly while Josephine let out gurgling screams.

"Condition terminal," the Dread Doctors chanted. "Condition terminal."

Then all was quiet. The Dread Doctors turned to each other. The Surgeon bent down and rolled Josephine over onto her back, her arms sprawling out.

He met Hayden's fearful eyes, tears falling as she listened to the commotion behind her.

"Kill me," Josephine spit out. The Surgeon stood over her body, raising his sword while Josephine let her eyes flare golden, letting out one last roar, baring her teeth . . .

Liam shut his eyes and heard Hayden let out a frightened whimper.

When he opened his eyes again, he found Josephine's lifeless eyes staring back at him, her head lolled to the side, black blood trickling out the corner of her parted mouth.

He stared for a moment, swallowing. His eyes landed on Hayden. She stared back at him, eyes wide.

"Hayden."

Then the Dread Doctors appeared. Two of them headed toward her while another stepped out in front of him, the back of its head revealed to be disfigured and mutilated while the Doctor pulled on its mask, heading toward Hayden.

"No. No, no. Don't . . . Don't hurt her!" he shouted. "Hayden! Hayden!"

He pulled on the tube encasing his forearm to get free, writhing frantically in an attempt to get to Hayden.

He watched in horror as the Dread Doctors began to carve in her back, her blood dripping to the floor. Dear God, why wasn't she screaming? He saw the agonizing fear and pain in her eyes as they continued whatever they were doing to her.

She was paralyzed and she couldn't scream or move and he couldn't help her.

He couldn't help her.

He couldn't -

The Dread Doctors said her name continuously as they performed their surgery but his voice stood out over theirs, growing hoarse with each loud yell.

"_HAYDEN!"_

**First of all, I have a confession to make.**

**This was originally suppose to be a Liam/OC story. Now, this was before I saw Season 5, so I had a whole story mapped out and then I had my surgery and something changed. I didn't feel the same way about Josephine anymore and I'm pretty sure no one really gave a crap about her anyway. So . . . after consideration, I killed her off! For real. And okay, yeah, I was going to bring her back to life but let's be honest, who hasn't brought their OC back from the dead? But that's another thing. But Hayden and Liam grew on me and I think I decided, "Fuck it. Let's do it." **

**I will fill in the plot whole for the possessing spirit too. **

**Second, we reached the double digit chapters! Whoo! Chapter 10! I can't believe it. Thank you all so much for motivating me this far! You all are so awesome!**

**Third, let's talk about "Strange Frequencies"! ****Hayden's reaction to Liam was priceless and I loved it! Theo is apparently a sociopath now, watching his sister die. Parrish kissed a burned Lydia which made me gag and go "WTF?! Parrish, why?" Then, the highlight of it: Theo got punched in the face by Parrish! And then the hallucinations came! Malia, when she got trapped in her dad's traps. I don't like Malia but lately she's been growing on me and I felt bad when that happened. And then, Tracy ripping out Lydia's tongue which looked so incredibly fake but I went "WTF?" Scott with Kira proclaiming that she was the messenger of death and choking him with Roxy's dog leash. Then Stiles and Roscoe! I was basically losing my shit and then Mason came and saved the day! Whew! And then, Liam and Hayden got taken by the Dread Doctors. :(**

**SibunaGleekR5er: I loved the Liayden moments in this episode and I hope you enjoyed this chapter and had all your Liayden feels!**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**_mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, amaliesofie, mactraverlive . com, Victoriareddick, allfandomslover, SibunaGleekR5er, BeyondMiracles, and Klarolineforever100._**


	11. Ouroboros

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter XI **

_**Ouroboros**_

**_oOo_**

"_**How'd you do that?"**_

"_**I don't know."**_

**_oOo_**

_He stared for a moment, swallowing. His eyes landed on Hayden. She stared back at him, eyes wide. _

"_Hayden."_

_Look at me, he wanted to tell her. _

_Then the Dread Doctors appeared. Two of them headed toward her while another stepped out in front of him, the back of its head revealed to be disfigured and mutilated while the Doctor pulled on its mask, heading toward Hayden._

"_No. No. No. Don't . . . Don't hurt her!" he shouted. "Hayden! Hayden!"_

_He pulled on the tube encasing his forearm to get free, writhing frantically in an attempt to get to Hayden._

_He watched in horror as the Dread Doctors began to carve in her back, her blood dripping to the floor. Dear God, why wasn't she screaming? He saw the agonizing fear and pain in her eyes as they continued whatever they were doing to her._

_She was paralyzed and she couldn't scream or move and he couldn't help her._

_He couldn't help her._

_He couldn't -_

_The Dread Doctors said her name continuously as they performed their surgery but his voice stood out over theirs, growing hoarse with each loud yell._

"_HAYDEN!"_

He let out a groan, fingers wandering over the black tube embedded into his arm, trying his best to pull it out. It wasn't a needle like he'd originally thought it was. The tube caused him pain whenever he pulled or tugged on it, so it must've been stuck inside of him.

He gave up on trying to free his arm from it, rolling back onto his back as pain streaked through. Liam gritted his teeth together as he turned his head to face Hayden.

The Dread Doctors were still doing their surgery, never stopping to take a break. Her eyes were so dull and lifeless, Liam would've thought she was dead, except for the fact that she occasionally blinked, then Liam breathed a sigh of relief.

Because it meant she was still alive.

For now, Liam knew. But Scott would come. Scott would come and save them.

_He promised me._

Hayden hadn't screamed or made a peep since the start of the surgery, her blood dripping out onto the floor underneath her, pooling under the exam table. She had to be in completely agony right now if they hadn't given her anything else beside paralyzation.

Liam wanted to take her pain away for her. He wanted to be in her place so that she wouldn't feel anything they were doing to her.

He wanted them to stop hurting her.

An alarm blared to life, drawing his attention. He noticed a Dread Doctor heading his way. The Pathologist strolled to a large test tube on the left of Liam's side, taking out a syringe and plugging it into a tube.

Liam couldn't make anything out of the water. It was disfigured, mutilated, and it had a hand floating by its body. Maybe another Dread Doctor? His eyes traveled farther up the tube, to where he supposed the head was and shrunk back in surprise. Two eyes were open and alert, a mask covering its nose to help it breathe.

Dear God, was _this_ what they were using his blood for?

To keep this thing alive?

Or was it for something else?

He didn't want to know, because just then, the alarm stopped as the Pathologist removed some of the liquid inside. A coughing fit racked his chest as the Dread Doctor turned, inspecting the syringe while walking back to the exam table.

"Her condition worsens," the Surgeon said to the Geneticist standing beside him.

Hayden's lips parted at the mention of this and this sent a surge of energy spiraling through Liam.

They were _not_ going to kill Hayden. She was _not_ a failure.

"_Stop_!" he shouted. He pushed himself up, ignoring the pain. "_Stop hurting her! Stop hurting her!"_

Fury pulsed through him.

He was angry at the Dread Doctors for doing this to Hayden. To the girl he loved.

He was angry that he couldn't do anything about it and he was fucking pissed.

He didn't know why the Dread Doctors were doing this to the both of them, but he wanted it to stop. Before he knew it, he wolfed out. Canines filing in his mouth, eyes shining golden as he let out a defiant and angry growl.

They were going to escape from this place. He was going to tear these fucking Dread Doctors apart one by one until -

The Pathologist stormed toward him and slammed the heavy boot into his face, once again, rendering him unconscious.

**_oOo_**

When Liam came to, he could see the Pathologist dragging Hayden off of the exam table and dumping her next to Liam before walking away.

She groaned in pain when she landed into her back. Liam crawled to her.

"Hayden?" he breathed out. "Hayden, you okay?"

Hayden's breaths came out in heavy pants as she struggled to say her next words. "It hurts."

His eyes dropped down to her abdomen, to where her fingers clutched at her side, black blood seeping through her fingers. She let out another pained groan.

That was it. Liam couldn't stand it anymore.

"Give me your hand."

Hayden immediately offered her free hand and he grasped it gently, placing the other on top of it, so both of his hands were overlapping hers. "There's something Scott does. He can take away the pain," he explained to her, then stammered as he realization hit him. "I've never done it before, but I can try."

_Okay?_

She watched him as he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. The whirring and beeping around him wasn't helping. How was he suppose to do this? It wasn't until he opened his eyes again while Hayden let out another loud grunt of pain that he realized it didn't work.

He couldn't help her. He didn't even - He wanted to scream in disbelief and frustration.

"I'm sorry," he told her sincerely.

"Why are they doing this to us?" she whispered, staring back at him.

"I don't know."

Their hands entwined against each other's as he reached for hers. They were going to need each other if they were ever going to escape from this place.

They were going to make sure that they were going to survive.

And never, in a million years, did Liam think he would be holding onto Hayden Romero's hand for comfort.

Of course, he might've - in due time.

If it hadn't been for his I.E.D. on that fateful day in Sixth Grade, he'd probably be dating her right about now.

It had been all Timothy's fault. He'd been taunting Liam about Hayden, mocking and ridiculing her, saying that she was fat and unattractive. Which wasn't true, Liam had thought. Liam thought she was the most beautiful girl alive. Timothy had kept pestering and pestering until Liam snapped . . . and then eventually screwed everything up.

He had ended up punching her in the nose accidentally. He'd been aiming for Timothy and then - _boom_. Suddenly, there she was. He had started to apologize when she'd punched him back.

And damn, could she pack a punch.

After that, he swore he would never let another girl come close to him until he fully apologized for his mistake.

**_oOo_**

Hayden was pulling on the tube that was screwed inside of his arm, trying to pull it out. He could feel it and he let out a pained yell. Hayden gave a grunt as the tube finally became free, black blood spilling out the end.

He gasped, staring at the blood in surprise. So they weren't taking his blood. They were injecting this black stuff into his system for whatever reason.

"Oh! It's all right. I'm sorry, are you okay?" she asked worriedly, leaning toward him as he pressed his hand against the open wound, trying to ignore the intense throbbing.

"It'll heal," he replied, looking at her, giving her a grateful look. "We'll both heal."

They smiled at each other until Liam noticed the Pathologist heading their way.

"Hayden!" he screamed in warning.

It was too late. Black gloves curled over his shoulders, tugging him backward sharply while the Pathologist grabbed Hayden, who shrieked as the Doctor injected a syringe into her neck.

"Hayden!" he cried again. The Surgeon gripped his chin, while a long needle headed toward Liam's eye. "No! No!" His chest rose and fell down heavily, panic running through his body. He screamed as the needle made contact.

"_No!" _

Pain ripped through his skull. His vision flickered and wavered, becoming darker and darker by the minute until everything faded to silence.

When they awoke, the two found themselves in a completely different room. A chain-link fence barricaded the entrance.

"Hayden?" Liam slurred, seeing the unconscious girl next to him. "Hayden, wake up."

She began to stir when he shook her shoulder, eyes opening. He watched as she lifted up her shirt, seeing her wound looking even worse, black blood pooling around. A whimper escaped her lips. "Where are we?" she asked, looking around.

"I don't know." Liam struggled to his feet, slowly staggering his way in front of the fence.

"Careful," Hayden whispered. His hand touched it and a jolt of electricity buzzed through him as it shocked him, sending him stumbling backward.

A giggle sounded, drawing both of the teenagers' attention. Liam twisted his body around in surprise to see a boy hidden in the shadows.

"Sorry, I probably should've warned you."

Liam sat up carefully, staring into the direction of the boy. "Who are you?"

"My name's Zach," the boy replied, still not budging to move out of the shadows. "And I think the better question is . . . _What_ am I?"

Liam shot a look toward Hayden as the boy continued.

"It's okay. I'm just like you. One of the experiments. Hey, maybe you could help me with something. The guys, in the masks . . ." Zach trailed off as he scooted himself into the light. His leg was entrapped with a chain as he dragged himself toward them. "They took something off my back. I don't know what it was, but I can feel part of it still there."

"You want us to look?" Liam asked, pressing his hand against his arm as he watched the dark-haired boy in front of him.

"Is that okay?"

Hayden met his eyes as he turned his head to look at her. He could see in her eyes that she was uncertain, and to be honest, he was too. Finally, he nodded.

Zach immediately turned around, grunting as he did so with slight difficulty, pulling up the back of his dirty jacket and shirt. Hayden peered closer, then her head recoiled back as she processed what she was seeing. Liam could only stare in horror and with some disgust, his mouth curled.

There, sticking out of Zach's shoulder blades, were two bloody short stumps, obviously the remainder of wings.

Wings that were now gone.

Zach let his shirt fall back down and turned around to face them, desperate to know what was on his back. "Well?"

After a long hesitation, Liam decided to tell him. Hayden chimed in, finishing it for him. Despite how strange Zach might've seemed, if Zach was in fact another Chimera, they were going to need each other if they wanted to escape. They were going to need Zach's help.

For the longest time, Zach didn't say anything after they told him about the stumps on his back. He just sat there, quiet.

Liam was currently surveying the fence in front of him, searching for a weakness. He felt Zach and Hayden watching from behind. He lifted his index finger and slowly reached out to the fence and -

_Zap!_

A jolt of electricity went through him. Liam hissed and winced from the pain, shaking his hand in protest. "Argh! Ugh . . . "

Zach chuckled while Liam sat back down next to Hayden in defeat. "We're not getting out of here."

Hayden stared at him in disbelief. "You could be a little optimistic," she scolded him.

"It's kinda hard when you watch three people get dragged out of here screaming."

"What happened to them?" Liam asked.

Zach met his eyes. "They were failures. That's all they said. First, you forget. You don't know who you are or what you're doing. Then you get violent. I watched two of them almost kill each other. One of them had a nasty looking cut just like that." Zach inclined his head as he acknowledged Hayden's cut on her side, glancing at it. She pulled down her shirt, glancing at Liam as he turned to Hayden. Liam bit his lip as Zach continued, listening while Hayden stared back at him.

"Don't worry," Zach hurried on after seeing their expressions. "Black is okay. It's only really over when you start bleeding other stuff. When it starts turning silver . . ."

"Mercury," Liam remembered. He recalled the silver substance dripping from Tracey's mouth that morning in Mr. Yukimura's classroom.

"That's when they know you're really a failure."

"How many more failures are there supposed to be?" Liam hissed angrily.

"Who knows?" Zach cut in. "But doesn't it make you wonder what the success is going to look like? I mean, what are we turning into? Something with claws and fangs? Something with wings?"

"Something worse," Hayden murmured.

It seemed like hours had gone by, but in reality, it must've been almost a couple of minutes. Liam and Hayden sat against the wall while Zach returned to his spot in the shadows. Liam sighed heavily. He wanted to find a way out of this place.

If only he could get Zach's help . . .

Liam had been trying to figure out a way that he could convince Zach to help each other escape, but from the looks of it, Zach had already accepted the fact that he was going to die. And that made Liam feel uneasy. He wasn't ready to die. He was pretty sure Hayden didn't want to die. And even Zach himself, even if he wouldn't admit it.

"_It's kinda hard when you watch three people get dragged out of here screaming."_

Tracy.

Lucas.

But Liam wondered who the third was. He wondered if one of the Pack had already had an encounter with the Chimera.

"Who's the third?" Liam blurted out.

"What?"

"Who's the third?" he repeated. "You said three people got dragged out of here screaming."

Zach was quiet. "His name was Josh, I think. I think he was a senior or something. Look, what are you getting at? You think we're getting out of here?"

"We are. We're getting out of here. And you're going to help us."

Zach snorted. "Look, man. I don't know if you're seeing what I'm seeing, but that fence -" He jabbed a finger toward it, glaring toward the two. "- is the only thing keeping us in. There's no way we're getting out. You want to escape? Fine by me. Go ahead and get yourselves killed."

Silence.

Liam stared at Zach in disbelief. A chittering sound entered their ears. Hayden looked around, confused.

Zach raised his head, listening. Realization seemed to hit him. "They're coming."

Liam frowned, peering closer, noticing silver dripping from Zach's nostril. Zach reached up with one hand and saw the mercury on his fingers.

"Oh, God!" Zach yelled, panic spreading across his features. His eyes widened. Liam turned his head to the fence to where a Dread Doctor appeared. The fence opened.

"No!" Zach screamed as he scrambled backward, trying to avoid the Dread Doctor's grasp. "No, no, no!"

Liam tried to push himself up, but some unseen force was holding him down, preventing him from rising. He tried again, groaning as he pushed himself against the unseen force, only to collapse down, panting heavily. He watched in horror as the Dread Doctor grabbed Zach's hoodie, dragging him away.

"No! No! Stop!"

Hayden also tried her best to rise against the unseen force, to no avail.

"Help me!" Zach pleaded, twisting and turning his body wildly in an attempt to break free. "Help me!" He grabbed hold of the door, clutching the sides, staring at Liam and Hayden. His eyes were filled with fear. "No! No! Wait!"

The Dread Doctor gave one last huge tug, dragging Zach into the mist to where he disappeared from sight.

Only his screams could be heard until they, too, faded away.

"_No! Help me!"_

Horrified, Liam and Hayden turned to stare at each other as the door clicked shut.

"Oh, God," Hayden whispered. "They just . . ."

Liam sucked in a deep breath. He couldn't get to Zach. He couldn't save him. And now, Zach was probably dead.

Terminated.

Why couldn't he get up? It was like something didn't want them to.

Was that another one of the Dread Doctors' powers? In addition to being able to look like they were warping out of reality and time . . . In addition to probably being able to take or change memories . . .

Could they also have powers too?

Liam gritted his teeth together as pain ripped inside his arm. He leaned his head back against the pipes behind them, trying to focus on healing.

He focused on the sound of Hayden's breathing next to him . . .

Liam raised his head when he realized he could hear the buzzing. Judging from the shifting of Hayden's body, she could hear it also.

"They're coming back." Liam gently wrapped an arm around her, helping her get to her feet. She whimpered and groaned from the pain as she leaned against him for support. Her fingers linked between his and Liam clutched her hand desperately. A million thoughts ran through his mind.

He was never going to get to tell Hayden that he loved her.

He was never going to be able to kiss her.

He was never going to be able to take her pain away.

But Liam knew that he was not going to go without a fight. He would fight the Dread Doctors, distract them in order to allow Hayden to escape, to allow her to find her way out back to the Pack. To tell them where they had been held captive at.

He would -

A figure came into view from the mist, too small to be a Dread Doctor.

"Liam? Hayden?"

Theo jogged toward them, ready to rip the electrified fence open.

"Theo, wait . . ." Liam shouted quickly, holding his arm out. "Don't!"

It was too late. Theo had already grabbed the fence and electricity poured through him, crackling, sending Theo's body flying backward with a pained yell.

"Theo!" Liam stood near the fence, trying to rouse the werewolf up. To help him regain his consciousness. He glanced behind, looking into the mist, hoping that Scott or Mason would appear.

No one did.

He didn't know whether to feel disappointment or relief because all he wanted was for him and Hayden to get out of this horrid place.

Theo finally began to stir, eyes blinking as he sat up, grunting.

"Theo? Theo? Theo, you all right?"

_Well, obviously he's not all right! He just got electrocuted!_

"Yeah," Theo huffed out. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Liam watched as Theo slowly struggled to his feet. "You think you can get help?" he asked.

"I am the help," Theo replied. Liam was confused, then realization hit him once he realized what Theo was about to do. He quickly turned, returning back to Hayden's side.

Theo hesitated before he reached out and put his hands on the fence. Immediately, electricity shocked and coursed through his body.

Hayden winced at the sight of this and Liam glanced at her.

Sparks popped and flew everywhere as the electricity continued to buzz, Theo grunting as he tried to pull the door open. Theo's features began to change. His eyes changed golden as his teeth filed into points. He let out a loud roar as the door finally slid open, his arms pushing it aside.

"C'mon!"

Liam and Hayden immediately followed after Theo, following him down the tunnels. Hayden lagged behind slowly until Liam scooped her up in his arms and carried her. Theo led them to a blue truck and they all climbed in. The engine started and Theo took off, tires squealing.

No doubt soon that the Dread Doctors would be coming after them again once they realized they were gone. But right now, Liam didn't care. He was happy that he got away with Hayden by his side.

Music played quietly from Theo's speakers as the radio played. Hayden leaned her head against his shoulder as Liam watched as they came to a lone road, evergreen trees filing out on either side.

Hayden jerked her head back, groaning in pain. She lifted up her shirt to inspect it.

"It still hurts?" he asked stupidly. He wanted to smack himself that moment.

"Everywhere," she said, tears filling her eyes as she looked toward him. "I'm not healing. Not like it did before. That means I'm a failure, doesn't it?"

_No, you're not a failure._

He wanted to tell her that. Hayden was strong. She would make it through this.

Without hesitation, Liam leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were soft against his. It was just suppose to be an innocent little peck, but Liam found himself enjoying it. He wanted more. He took in her bottom lip as she, without hesitation, kissed him back. He _drew_ her pain, taking it into his body before he pulled away, keeping his eyes closed. His neck and body tingled. After a moment, he opened his eyes.

She stared back at him in surprise. "It's gone," she whispered. Her eyes filled with surprise and happiness. "The pain's gone. How did you do that?"

Liam stared back at her for a moment before he replied. "I don't know," he said honestly.

A grateful look crossed her face as she smiled at him genuinely. Their faces were centimeters apart. He could feel the hotness of their breaths falling against each other's skin, hearing their heartbeat finally slow to the same pace. Her hand curled into his and Liam leaned in for another kiss.

Her tongue slipped into his mouth, seemingly eager to take a tour and he let out a breathless moan each time he detached from her lips, only to take her lips into his again. His hand dropped down to her waist and he placed her hand over her wound before _drawing_ her pain into himself. He felt his veins blacken and bulge before numbness overtook his hand. But he didn't care. His hand cupped her cheek bringing her closer to him, her fingers curling over the nape of his neck. He felt himself beginning to melt into Hayden, enjoying the close proximity of their bodies pressing up each other's when an '_Ahem'_ broke the kiss. Liam and Hayden turned to see Theo standing by the open door to the backseat.

"You guys done?" Theo asked, a knowing look on his face, a smirk etched upon his lips.

Liam helped Hayden out of the backseat of the truck. Theo had apparently brought them to Scott's house. Liam wasn't sure what he was going to say if he saw him. Scott hadn't come like he said he would. They entered through the door. Upon seeing them, Lydia rose from her seat in the McCalls' living room, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God," she breathed out.

Her arms reached out as she stepped closer to Liam. Lydia carefully hugged him, then turned to Hayden, embracing her too. She pulled away and turned to hug Theo. Liam felt slightly guilty about messing up a nice, clean couch but he was tired. He plopped down, pulling Hayden next to him. He grabbed a pillow and placed it on top of his lap, in case Hayden wanted to sleep there - and mostly to cover up his boner when he woke up in the morning. Hayden snuggled up against the crook of his neck and he watched her drift to sleep. Liam shot Theo a grateful look and Theo nodded in acknowledgement.

He felt his eyelids become heavy and he let himself fall asleep, finally feeling safe and secure by the comfort of his friends with Hayden by his side.

**This episode, man. **

**Desert Wolf = wanting to kill Malia (again.) Hmm. Notice she said "again." Was Malia dead the first time and was somehow resurrected? Or did she assume she was dead when the car went off the road and didn't bother to check?**

**Melissa slapping the Sheriff. **

**Liam/Hayden feels! The kiss! We got two kisses and I saw they were using tongue! Whoo, go Liam! #PuppyLove**

**Theo = evil (+ creeper alert) But I thank him for saving our babies even if he did orchestrate this whole thing to gain the Pack's trust. Sneaky little bastard. *whispers* I'm watching you**

**Zach! No, not the winged-boy! I will miss you. :(**

**Scott/Kira breakup? Whatever it was, it made me cry. I want Kira to come back! Also, I found a new song I like: Amber Run - I Found.**

**Parrish taking the body he was guarding. LOL.**

**Scott telling his mom that he felt hopeless and that everything was his fault. :(**

**Theo hugging everyone and Scott looking jealous and disappointed in himself. And Malia, her face when she hugged Theo. It's like she realized something and I wanna know what she was thinking.**

**Everyone is fucked now that Theo knows their weaknesses. Fuck you, Theo.**

**Also on important notice, Chapter 12 "Lies of Omission" may come later than usual. School starts next week (ON A FRIGGIN' WEDNESDAY! WHA?) and I gotta get up at 5 A.M. to catch the city bus, be at the city bus stop at 6 (usually by 6:05) then wait a hour until 7 for my school bus to come pick me up. I can't believe I'm a senior! Whoo!**

**Are you ready for your first day (back or to) school or nah?**

**SibunaGleekR5er: I hope you loved this chapter and the Layden kiss. [I tried my best to make the kiss epic which is hard since I've never been kissed before so I don't know exactly how it feels.] But I fangirled so hard! What were your thoughts? And are you ready for the Scott/Stiles scene about "Not everyone can be True Alphas! Some of us are human!" I'm definitely not.**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**_mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, amaliesofie, mactraverlive . com, Victoriareddick, allfandomslover, SibunaGleekR5er, BeyondMiracles, Klarolineforever100, sportsgirlKG, thirdlady89, and darklou._**


	12. Lies of Omission

**All That We're Living For**

**Chapter XII**

_**Lies of Omission**_

**_oOo_**

"_**All I meant was, it might be a good idea if we stick together. So we can protect each other."**_

"_**We can't protect anyone." **_

**_oOo_**

* * *

_It was never suppose to end like this._

_It was never suppose to turn out this way._

_But it did. It was happening, right here in this very moment._

_Liam gave a menacing growl as he rose to his feet, eyes glowing golden as he gave a loud roar . . ._

There was a sense of foreboding in the air.

Liam could see it, sense it, and feel it all around him. No one was smiling or laughing much these days. Ever since Theo had rescued both Hayden and Liam from the Dread Doctors' lair, things had . . . changed.

It had been five days.

The Beacon Hills Police Department was now questioning all the potential Chimeras - thanks to Sheriff Stilinski - tasking them with a list of questions to find out whether you had two sets of DNA in you. It was called "**Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire."** Some of the questions were things like "_Have you experienced fugue states or incidents of missing time?"_ or "_During the past month, have you had any reason to wonder if you were losing your mind or losing control over the way you act, talk, think, feel, or of your memory?"_

Hayden had told Liam that her name was on the list. She had seen the papers on the kitchen table in her home and had read it out of curiosity. Hayden had yet to be questioned, but she had confessed that her sister, Valerie saw that her name was on the list and was currently wondering why. She hated lying to her sister, but if it was keeping her sister safe at the moment, then Hayden would do anything to protect her.

At the moment, both Hayden and Corey were the only two Chimeras that were still alive.

Neither wanted Scott's help. After what Scott had done to Corey, jamming his claws into the boy's neck, he definitely didn't want anything to do with the True Alpha. And as for Hayden, she didn't want anything to do with Scott after he'd offered her up as bait and failed to protect her and Liam both from the Dread Doctors.

So Liam had took it upon himself to teach Hayden how to control her werewolf side. There was a supermoon coming the next day, and they both could feel it running through their veins. It was urging them to _want_ to lose control, to sink their minds and bodies into a frenzy of blood lust.

But Liam resisted as much as he could. Hayden and Liam were both standing on top of the darkened stairs at the beginning of school. The electricity was currently off for an unknown reason.

No one was around them but Liam looked around nervously while Hayden lifted up her shirt to reveal her healed side. He still couldn't believe it. He gently brushed his fingers against her skin, goosebumps trailing after his touch. She gazed in his eyes, happiness shining through her smile as she grabbed Liam's hand and tugged them toward homeroom. As he passed, he could smell Scott standing somewhere and Corey's scent entering his nose.

Several eyes whirled toward Liam and Hayden as they watched the two stroll in, hands linked together. Mason gave him a thumbs-up while Liam grinned. They sat next to each other, sharing glances toward each other as a substitute began the school day. He did find his mind wandering at some time, wondering how Kira and her parents were doing, whether Zach was still alive or not . . . Liam had a gut feeling that Zach was, unfortunately dead, just like Josephine.

His mind wandered over to Deputy Parrish. The Pack - well, mostly Stiles and Lydia - had discovered that he had been the one to take the bodies. For whatever reason, Parrish had explained to them that in his "dream" he was taking the bodies to the Nemeton and then setting them ablaze with his powers. Liam still didn't understand why. He figured that it was possibly because either Parrish was trying to restore the balance of nature or he was trying to cover up the supernatural.

But the worse thing was, no one had told Sheriff Stilinski about what the Deputy had been doing.

Was that all they were doing to each other?

Keeping secrets from one another?

The Pack was drifting apart, Liam knew. He saw it scrawled on each other's faces as they passed one another in the hallways, not bothering to speak to one another that often. Their faces were solemn, weariness taking toll on their bodies.

Liam thought that Malia keeping something to herself - as was Stiles. But he wondered what.

The only people bothering to talk to one another were Stiles and Lydia - and they were currently taking the school day off searching for the Nemeton. Mason, Liam, and Hayden (and Brett) were still talking to each other as they tried their best to help out Corey.

Liam was purposely avoiding Scott. He was angry at him, for multiple reasons. He was angry because Scott had promised to protect them - Hayden - and he didn't.

It'd also been five days and the Dread Doctors hadn't appeared.

Which made Liam feel uneasy.

Something bigger had to be coming if they were waiting. But he wasn't sure what they were waiting for and decided that somewhat, he'd better enjoy the happier moments while they lasted. In a short break, Liam had pulled Hayden outside while they could. He led her between two empty school buses, away from prying eyes and prying ears.

"I'll see you second period for History, okay? Then lunch." He noticed that he'd been absentmindedly playing with her hair, letting his fingers run down to the end of her curl over her shoulder before letting it go.

"I have Math after that," she reminded him, smiling.

"So, I'll find you at the bell."

Liam felt calm around her as he swallowed. His heart wasn't racing like it had used to before, having this _need_ to be close to her every chance he got. Instead, now every time he saw her, he'd kiss her and hold her close to him, hearing the soft thumping on her heart. Knowing that she was safe. Between the PTSD and the torture they'd endured together, it felt comforting for them to be together, never letting one another out of their sights until they made sure that they were safe.

Because no one else knew what they went through and what and how they had felt during that time.

It was quiet for a moment as Liam watched Hayden think. There seemed to be something on her mind and he wanted to know what it was. But he didn't prod and waited for her to say it on her own.

"They only come out after dark though, right?" Hayden asked finally, her eyes wandering over his in search for a confirmation. "So, you don't have to check on me every period."

"I want to," Liam blurted honestly. He _did_ want to. It was something he could do while avoiding Scott.

And Stiles.

And . . . well, okay, everyone. Except Mason and Corey and Brett. They didn't count.

"Okay," she breathed out softly.

He made the first move and pressed his lips to hers. She tasted like her bubblegum like always and he didn't mind anymore. Besides, it was strangely nice, knowing that she didn't have bad breath. Liam pulled his head back, staring at her beautiful face. "You're gonna be okay," he promised.

Gratefully, Hayden shared a genuine smile toward him as she took hold of his jacket, tugging him closer to her. She kissed him passionately this time, her tongue entering his once, both of them pressed together as the kiss lingered longer than the first. Breathless, Liam pulled away, smiling at her until he noticed that there was silver leaking from her nostril. Suddenly, it felt like all the oxygen had been taken from him and he couldn't breathe.

_No._

His smile dropped. Hayden quickly reached up and wiped away the mercury with her fingers, staring at it with horror. Her breathing became heavy and her voice was shaky and frantic as she spoke.

"Don't tell anyone," she begged, tears forming in her eyes. She met Liam's shocked, fearful eyes. "You can't tell anyone."

**_oOo_**

So, how was he suppose to last the school day knowing that Hayden might die while he was gone?

_No. You can't think like that. Hayden will be okay_, he thought to himself. _Hayden won't die. I won't let that happen._

He knew he'd missed lacrosse practice during his talk with Hayden. But he didn't care. He thought of options he could choose from.

Should he tell Scott?

No. Because he didn't keep his promise. He couldn't protect Hayden. He couldn't protect the both of _them_.

Stiles?

Liam _did_ share his suspicions about Theo Raeken, but Stiles was nowhere to be found. Of course, he was with Lydia for the day, searching for the Nemeton.

Liam let out an exasperated sigh. He thought about Mason, but then decided against it. Mason was busy enough as it was, being with Corey and all, helping the fellow Chimera with his powers.

Then who could he tell about Hayden? No one but himself, he guessed. Maybe they could run away. Even though, he knew they'd probably be on the run for the rest of their lives - and yes, he did know he wasn't thinking this through the whole way - maybe, just maybe they could have some normal in their lives, just the two of them.

The school bell rang, signaling the transition to switch to their next class, while Liam snuck into the locker room, heading to his locker. Opening it, he began stuffing protein bars and energy drinks into his red duffel bag. Nearby, he heard the sound of Scott wheezing and inhaling his asthma inhaler. He grimaced to himself, knowing that Scott would be cornering him soon. And yup, as if right on cue, there he was.

Scott must've heard his heart beating. Liam tried his best to steady it as he heard Scott approach him.

"Hey. What are you doing?"

"Nothing," he lied quickly as he zipped up his bag.. _Keep your heart steady. Keep your emotions under control. Think of Hayden. She's your anchor._

_The sun, the moon, the truth._

_The sun. The moon. The t -_

"Hey, Liam, just remember it's a full moon tomorrow," Scott reminded him. "And you're probably already starting to feel it."

"I know."

"It's a supermoon," Scott continued. "Which means it's gonna be closer to the Earth . . ."

"Yeah, I . . . I know what it means," Liam said, cutting him off. He didn't want Scott to keep reminding him of the supermoon. As far as he was concerned, the supermoon was the least of his worries, even though he knew he might lose control again.

"Okay. Well, just remember, I'm here for you."

Liam slammed the locker door shut. Scott was watching him as he growled out angrily, "You going to chain me to the tree again?"

Scott paused for a second, seemingly confused of why Liam was acting like this. "All I meant was, it might be a good idea if we stick together. So we can protect each other."

Before Liam knew it, the words were already out of his mouth as he retorted, "We can't protect anyone."

And he left without saying another word.

**_oOo_**

The wails and cries of an ambulance caught Liam's attention. He jerked his head up and bolted out of his seat, following the crowd. He was praying the whole way that it wasn't Hayden, it wasn't Hayden, it -

It wasn't Hayden.

Liam watched from the back of the crowd as Corey was loaded onto a stretcher, gasping, mercury staining the front of his white shirt and filling up his mouth.

Scott and Theo came pushing through the crowd and met up with Mason, who had Corey's blood all over his hands and pink shirt.

Mason stammered as he tried to explain. "He just started bleeding everywhere. I don't . . ."

"Don't let them do it," Corey choked out to Theo and Scott, his voice frightened and full of fear. "Don't let them kill me!"

Liam heard Theo's voice next after the back doors to the ambulance shut. "Scott, we have to follow them. We gotta protect him, right? Scott, come on. Scott?" Theo asked as the sirens went off, wailing and flashing as the emergency vehicle took off. Scott, this is what you do."

Liam turned, finally having heard enough. Corey was dying and soon, Liam knew with regret and somewhat guilt, the boy would be dead. That meant that Hayden would be the last one.

The last Chimera.

The Dread Doctors' successful experiment. She _had_ to be their successful experiment. Otherwise, she wouldn't had lasted this long.

Liam tried to convince himself this as he shoved his way through the surging crowd in front of him, making his way toward the stairwell. There, he found Hayden waiting for him as she came down the stairs, her books and folders in her arms.

"It's Corey, isn't it?" she asked him sadly when she noticed the lines of students filing out for the day.

"Yeah," he replied. "They're taking him to the hospital."

"That means I'm next," Hayden realized as she looked toward Liam. "They're coming for me."

"They're coming for all of us," he corrected her, refusing to believe that the Dread Doctors wanted just Hayden. "Which is why we have to get out of here."

He grabbed her hand, pulling her along the empty hallway. Together, the two fled like how it had happened the last time - fleeing from the Dread Doctors. He'd grabbed his duffelbag along the way and then, the two teenagers climbed into Hayden's silver car.

They were running away, Liam realized with a start as Hayden took off after starting the ignition. They were really running away this time And Liam knew that he should've at least told his father goodbye.

So as Hayden drove, Liam pulled out his cellphone. He scrolled down his "**Contacts"** list and paused at the one that read "_**DAD"**_. He didn't know when it had happened, but one day he had decided to change his stepfather's contact number. It had been previously titled "_**STEPDAD - WORK"**_ but after Liam realized how much he had hurt his parents with his I.E.D., he wanted to change. His real father was an abusive alcoholic and a deadbeat dad and Liam had wanted nothing to do with him. His mother had remarried and for a while, Liam wasn't sure what to make of this "Dr. Geyser" guy. For a while, Liam avoided bonding time with him, playing hard to get, being stubborn, refusing to spend anytime with his mother's new husband.

But his stepfather was patient.

He waited, listened to Liam's angry rants as he spiraled into destruction, going off the rails because of his I.E.D., breaking things over the simplest little things. He was the one who prescribed Liam his medication after his mother had told him about his condition. And it had helped and Liam was grateful.

But deep down, Liam was still so, so angry and he wanted to get rid of it and he couldn't figure out how.

Dr. Geyser had noticed that Liam had been withdrawn for a couple of weeks and he'd suggested to go somewhere. Liam refused, but then again, he was extremely bored. He'd been very hesitant the whole ride to the place his stepfather was talking about.

"_I think you'll like it," Dr. Geyser spoke, glancing at twelve-year-old Liam sitting in the passenger seat. "It'll be a great outlet for you, to help you get rid of your anger."_

_Sullen, Liam slouched in his seat until he noticed that they were on the Devenford Prep lacrosse parking lot. He got out of the car while his stepfather popped open the trunk._

"_Uh, why are we . . . here?" Liam asked uncertainly, looking around. "This is Devenford. This is -"_

"_I know that, Liam." Dr. Geyser said gently as he came around the side of the car with a duffelbag and two pairs of lacrosse sticks in his hand. "C'mon. I want to show you something."_

_The two walked across the pristine, neatly mowed bright green grass. Several people were sitting in the bleachers, chatting happily as they waited for the day to be over. They paused when they saw Liam and Dr. Geyser arriving._

"_Liam, if you don't like this, we can try something else, okay?" Dr. Geyser told the young boy as he set the duffelbag down. He held out one of the lacrosse sticks out to him. "But please, at least, give this a chance." _

_And for a long time, Liam stared at the lacrosse stick in his stepfather's hand and eventually, took it from him._

_That was the day his life changed._

Now, if he thought about it, if his step - whoops, _father_ never taught him lacrosse, he wouldn't be here today. He never would've been able to save Hayden that night from the Dread Doctors or be someone she could have comfort with after her torture. All in all, if he'd never played lacrosse, he would've never had met Scott and Stiles that day in freshmen year.

He would've never had become a werewolf.

He would've never in his life would've been the person he was today.

Before he could back out, Liam willed and forced himself to call his father's number. The phone was pressed against his ear. He waited as he heard it ring, once, twice -

Voicemail.

He heaved a deep sigh, then quickly relayed his message.

"Hey, Dad. It's me, uh, Liam. Listen, I just wanted to tell you that I'll be gone for a bit. I'm uh, I'm . . . dealing with some things here and uh, don't - Don't worry about me. I'll be okay. Um . . . Dad, just don't worry. I'll come back home when we - I can," Liam paused before he hung up before rushing on. "Uh, I love you. I don't think I tell you guys that enough. You and Mom. You guys can yell at me when I get back, okay? I love you. Bye."

Hayden said nothing as she watched him out of the corner of her eye, listening to Liam's voice while she continued to drive. Liam slipped his phone back into his pocket. As they slowed down to a intersection and a stop sign, Hayden turned her head toward him and laid her hand over his, squeezing it for comfort as she smiled at him.

A horn honked impatiently behind them and they realized with a start that the light had turned green.

**_oOo_**

They made their way to Sinema. Hayden parked her car near the backdoor entrance and they raced inside. She explained to him that Phil had never gotten a security system and had never worried about getting robbed. He had kept Hayden's paycheck behind the bar in the club, in a large safe.

"Here it is," she exclaimed, bending down. Liam crouched down behind her.

The club was dark except for a couple of lights Hayden had turned on at the bar, which was above te shelves where all the glasses were held.

"You know the combination?"

"12-34-56," she replied as she hit the last number and unlocked the safe, pulling it open.

He actually had to think about it for a second before he realized that yes, Phil really _was_ an idiot. "But that's . . ."

As if reading his mind, Hayden turned her head back to glance at him. "Yeah, Phil's an idiot," she said. She reached in and grabbed her envelope, retrieving it from the safe, checking to see if her name was on it. It was, in neatly printed handwriting: _Hayden Romero._

Inside were two hundred dollar bills. Hayden closed the safe and turned toward Liam, twisting her body to the side. "My sister's going to go out of her mind worrying about me," she said softly.

"We'll come up with something to tell her," Liam said.

Hayden stood up and he followed her action. She looked down at the envelope in her hand before she asked, "How far are we gonna go?"

Liam faced her. "Wherever's far enough, I guess."

"What if I turn out like Tracy?" Hayden rambled on quickly. "What if I hurt you?"

He was quiet for a second before he met her eyes. He shook his head in disapproval at the thought of Hayden hurting him and smiled at this. "I'll get over it."

She grinned and pulled his mouth to hers. It felt like the whole world was spinning and all Liam could think of after they had pulled away was that he wanted more.

Suddenly, a projector whirled to life. _Night of the Living Dead_ began to play across the screen across the room from the two teenagers. More and more projectors turned on as lights flashed and whirled around the club.

"Oh, God," Hayden whimpered. "They're here."

The projector began its countdown as Liam and Hayden stood behind the bar in horror.

**7 . . .**

**6 . . .**

_Hide! You need to hide!_

**5 . . . **

_They're coming!_

**4 . . .**

Liam grabbed Hayden's hand and pulled her into the darkest room next to the bar and together, they crouched down . . .

**3 . . .**

They heard the sound of a pair of heavy boots entering the room.

**2 . . .**

Hayden held her hand over her mouth to try and stop her heavy breathing and Liam was perched beside her, gripping her hand, ready to bolt with her at any second . . .

**1.**

They heard the Dread Doctor walk to the bar, then stop. Suddenly, there was the sound of several bottles breaking, which made Hayden flinch. Behind the silver confetti curtain, they saw the Dread Doctor walk behind the bar and his back was turned to them. He grabbed her hand and together they rose, running past the Surgeon - Liam saw with a glance back - and skidded to a frantic stop when they saw the Pathologist standing in front of them. The Pathologist wasted no time in backslamming Liam across the face with its hand. Liam felt pain streak through his face, as the Pathologist's metal glove connected with his cheek, knocking some tooth loose. He fell into the floor, unable to catch himself, landing on his arm instead. Blood trailed from the inside of his mouth, trickling out of his lips. He spat it out angrily as the Surgeon turned his sights on Hayden.

He rose up and before he could even land a punch, the Surgeon saw him and threw the young werewolf across the room, straight into the confetti curtain. He grunted and groaned in pain as he tried to raise himself off of the cold floor. "_Run, Hayden. RUN!"_

She began backing up as the Pathologist began walking toward her when all of a sudden, Liam heard a loud roar.

_Scott's_ roar.

And Liam had to admit that he was sort of glad to hear it. Because obviously, Liam and Hayden weren't going to get out of this on their own.

He stumbled to his feet, eyes glowing golden, canines filling his mouth as he charged toward the Surgeon. He grabbed a hold of the Surgeon's arm, trying to shove him back with each hard blow he could muster with his fist. The Surgeon only gripped Liam by the shoulders before tossing him back against the cement floor. He heard the sounds of Scott fighting the Pathologist while he got to his feet again, determination and anger coursing through him as he managed to land a hard kick against the Surgeon's body, causing the Dread Doctor to stumble back. Liam shared several arm blows with the lead Dread Doctor before he was hit across the face and was sent careening against a pole. He steadied himself against it, breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath when he turned to face the man. He was only met with the sight and feeling of the Surgeon wrapping his hands across his throat as he whirled them both around, sending Liam slamming against the floor below him.

Liam gave a yell of agony as he swore he felt his back break. But it must have not because next thing he knew, he was being hoisted to his feet by an already wolfed-out, Theo, whose golden eyes shone brightly in the darkness.

"Get Hayden out of here," Theo shouted. "Go!"

He let him go as Theo turned to fight the Surgeon. Liam looked around wildly realizing that Hayden was no longer in the place where she'd been before.

_No. _

Where was she? Where was she?!

"Hayden?" he screamed loudly in panic, fear pulsing through his veins. "Hayden! Hayden!"

He swore to himself that he'd never let her out of his sight until he made sure that she was safe and now -

She was gone. She was -

_No. _She still had to be around here somewhere.

He burst through the silver curtain and found her and the Geneticist standing there. Hayden let out a terrified scream as an needle was injected into her neck.

A sound ripped through his soul, his body, his voice that he didn't recognize. "_NOOOOOOO!"_

Hayden's eyes filled up with silver, mercury completely as the Geneticist let her go, sending to crashing to the floor onto her knees. The Geneticist turned to leave. Before she could fall over, Liam rushed to her side quickly. Her eyes returned back to normal and all he could think was: _Hayden, Hayden, Hayden. Please don't - Hayden, look at me. Look at me. _

_Look at me._

No words could describe the million thoughts flitting throughout his head like a hummingbird's. All he knew and wanted at this moment was for her to be alright and to still be alive and breathing. Nothing else mattered.

From the looks of it, she looked fine except he didn't believe his eyes and wanted to make sure himself. He looked at her worriedly as he helped her to her feet. She rested and leaned against the wall for support when Scott and Theo came rushing in.

"I'm okay," Hayden told him softly. She must've seen the look in his eyes because she forced a tight smile and went on. "Really, I think I'm okay."

Hesitant to let her go, he turned and stepped toward Scott and Theo, explaining to them what he had seen. "I saw the needle go in," he stammered. "A-And her eyes just filled up with mercury. They turned completely silver."

"She looks okay," Theo murmured from his spot besides Liam. Liam turned to face the other werewolf, watching him watch Hayden. "Maybe she'll heal."

"Or maybe she won't," Scott interjected. Liam's face dropped as he couldn't believe what he was hearing. And to think -

Unable to look at Scott anymore, Liam turned toward Theo instead. ""What if something's happening to her on the inside?" he wondered.

After a moment of silence, Scott seemed to be in deep thought as he ordered, "Get them to the Animal Clinic. I'll meet you there." Then he exited the building without furthur explanation.

Liam carried Hayden out of the club to Theo's blue truck. They all climbed into their respective spots and Theo started the ignition. They took off.

"Keep her awake," Theo told Liam. Rain began to pour down his windshield heavily as he continued to speak. "I don't think it's a good idea for her to fall asleep."

"Hayden?" Liam asked, shifting her body against his own. She was leaning against his shoulder, breathing shakily. "Hayden, you gotta stay awake."

"I'm so tired," she whispered, her head lolling back against his shoulder. Her body was becoming dead weight.

"Yeah, I know, but you can't go to sleep," Liam insisted, pleadingly. _You can't fall asleep on me, Hayden._ "How do we help her?"

"I don't know. When it's wolfsbane poisoning, you burn it out," Theo offered from his place in the front seat. "But I don't know anything about mercury. Especially a kind that's probably been altered by them."

"Is she going to heal?"

"The problem is she's not really like us, Liam," Theo reminded Liam. "None of them are. They're more like - like cheap knockoffs. She might not be as strong as we are."

"Or heal like we do," Liam finished. He glanced down at Hayden, sadness crossing over his features. He wasn't able to help her now. Whatever the Geneticist - the Dread Doctors - had done, Hayden wasn't healing properly like how a real werewolf's would've.

"She's not a real werewolf."

"What if we turn her into one?" Liam interrupted, an idea flashing through his mind. He knew it was potentially dangerous, but it was a plan nonetheless.

"Nice idea," commented Theo. "Except you and I can't do that."

"But Scott can." Liam glanced at Hayden as their fingers pressed against each other's.

**_oOo_**

Theo helped Liam carry Hayden into the Animal Clinic. Scott was still nowhere to be seen.

Liam was about to lift Hayden onto the metal slab but she screamed in pain, moaning weakly and Liam decided not to do that. So, here they were now, Liam sitting in the corner, Hayden lying in his arms as he cradled her, trying to comfort her while Theo stood over to the side, standing against the slab.

Suddenly, he heard the roar of Scott's motorcycle approaching then abruptly stop. Still, Scott did not come in and Liam wondered why. After a few more minutes passed by, he heard Stiles' Jeep pull in and the sound of the driver's door closing.

"**Hey, sorry . . . I had trouble starting the Jeep again," Stiles was saying. "That thing's barely hanging on. I couldn't get in touch with Malia or Lydia. Scott? Where did you get that?"**

_Get what? _Liam thought. _What's happening? What are they talking about?_

"**This is yours? Why didn't you tell me?" Scott questioned. **

"**I was going to," Stiles started but Scott cut him off. **

"**No, but why didn't you tell me when it happened?"**

"**I couldn't."**

"**You killed him?" Scott finally asked, "You killed Donovan?"**

_Whoa, what?! Killed who?! Who the hell is Donovan?! _Liam turned his head and met Theo's eyes, who then frowned and mouthed, "Who's Donovan?" Something flickered and passed through Theo's eyes as Liam watched.

Hayden moaned again and he gripped her hand, trying to suck out her pain to no use. "I'm sorry," he whispered, looking down at the pale and shivering girl in his arms.

"What's happening?" she gasped out. "Why are they - why are they fighting?"

"I don't know," Liam told her. Theo walked over to where Liam and Hayden were and crouched down next to them.

If Liam's plan worked, then Scott would be able to save her. Scott would save Hayden, Liam convinced himself. He was the True Alpha. _He'd promised me._

_So he'll have to do it._

"**Well, he was going to kill my dad. Huh? Was I supposed to just let him?" Stiles continued, frustration and anger creeping into his voice.**

"**You weren't supposed to do this. None of us are."**

"**You think I had a choice?"**

"**There's always a choice," Scott replied. **

"**Yeah, well, I can't do what you can, Scott. I know you wouldn't have done it. You probably would've just figured something out, right?"**

"**I'd try," Scott answered.**

"**Yeah, because you're Scott McCall!" Stiles yelled. "You're the True Alpha! Guess what? All of us can't be True Alphas. **_**Some of us have to make mistakes. Some of us have to get our hands a little bloody sometimes. Some of us are human**_**!"**

Liam tried to focus on Hayden and block the conversation taking place outside of the Clinic. Her body began to convulse and he immediately freaked.

"Hayden!"

Her body thrashed and flailed and for one split second, her eyes glowed golden before her body became completely still.

Bits and pieces of Scott and Stiles' conversation kept cutting through.

"**Say you believe me." That was Stiles.**

"**We can't kill people! Do you believe that?"**

"**Well, what do I do about this? What do you want me to do? Okay, just be . . . Scott, just tell me how to fix this, all right? Please, just tell me, what do you want me to do?"**

"Hayden, don't leave me," he begged as her breathing became shallow, her moans and cries of pain weak.

"**Don't worry about Malia or Lydia. We'll find them. Maybe . . . Maybe you should talk to your dad."**

The door to the Animal Clinic finally opened and Scott walked in, rain dripping from his entire body.

"She's getting worse," Liam said. "I think she's dying."

"It's got to be some kind of mercury poisoning," Theo chimed in.

"Scott, remember what you promised me," Liam said frantically. "You said you'd do everything you could to save her."

Hauden gave another moan. "If she's a real werewolf," Liam continued without stopping. "We can save her. You gotta give her the bite."

"No."

Liam's heart dropped. His world froze and that single word echoed in his head.

_No._

And that's when Liam lost all faith in Scott.

* * *

**We have much to talk about. But I'll let it all out when "Status Asthmaticus" is finally posted.**

**SibunaGleekR5er: Here's your update and I hope you had the feels at the Stiles/Scott scene!**

**candyflossblue: I'm so glad you loved the last chapter! I hope you had all the Layden feels in this chapter! :)**

**SPECIAL THANKS TO:**

**_mattmurilo, SnarkyLittleHufflepuff, n9horsesbubbles, vinny-nicole, Fixie13, andreagjervold, MistSpade, BrooklynTeen, TvRomances, Bluegirlassasin6444, CaliGirl17, oscarthedolphin531, Emy Dagger, OlicityWestAllen143, PitMaster115, QueenOfMyPlanet, abbzmay, carolinesalvatore21, cassandra karin, lillypilly01, YMCMBYoungin13, BlackRabbit148, abbzmay, the s33r, WriterGurl11, 99danas, FreeLion, Reader237, amaliesofie, mactraverlive . com, Victoriareddick, allfandomslover, SibunaGleekR5er, BeyondMiracles, Klarolineforever100, sportsgirlKG, thirdlady89, darklou, TK123765, veeRonniekins, Sas137, and candyflossblue._**


	13. Status Asthmaticus

_The door to the Animal Clinic finally opened and Scott walked in, rain dripping from his entire body. _

_"She's getting worse," Liam said. "I think she's dying."  
_

_"It's got to be some kind of mercury poisoning," Theo chimed in.  
_

_"Scott, remember what you promised me," Liam said frantically. "You said you'd do everything you could to save her." _

_Hayden gave another moan. "If she's a real werewolf," Liam continued without stopping. "We can save her. You gotta give her the bite."  
_

_"No."  
_

_Liam's heart dropped. His world froze and that single word echoed in his head.  
_

_No. _

_And that's when Liam lost all faith in Scott.  
_

**_oOo_**

Thunder rumbled ominously in the background of the Animal Clinic, but Liam wasn't thinking about that now. He stormed toward Scott, anger boiling in his veins as the next words ripped through his clenched teeth. "What do you mean, "No"?"

Scott took a small step back from him, regaining his footing as he tried his best to reason with the young Beta. "Liam, look at her. She's too weak. It will kill her. We don't even know what the mercury's doing to her. We don't even know if it is actually mercury. This can't be the only way to save her life."

Liam gave him a steely glare but Scott did not back down. "It saved mine," he reminded him.

"You know, that was different," Scott said. "You were hanging off a ledge."

"You promised. You said you'd do everything you could." Hayden's weak gasping entered his ears as Liam spoke. He wanted to go to her but he had to convince Scott to save her. He couldn't let her die.

"Which is why I'm not going to do something I think is going to kill her," Scott continued, then a gasp caught in his throat. He began to breathe heavily, trying to force the next words out of his mouth. "There has to be - There has to -"

"Scott," Theo called out. Liam turned his head to see the other boy reach into his pocket and toss the True Alpha an inhaler. Scott wheezed and gasped, his inhaler in his hands as he pressed it to his mouth and sucked in air, inhaling it desperately. The wheezing subsided. "There's another way to save her."

Theo's voice drew their attention as he spoke. Liam momentarily forgot where he was and saw the other werewolf crouched next to his dying girl. Liam's eyes narrowed. It should be _him_ next to her, not Theo.

So then, why wasn't he next to her and by her side, like he promised?

"Guys, I don't know what the statistics are for surviving a werewolf bite, but she's definitely not surviving this," said Theo. "We need to do something."

Night began to darken the day. Stiles kept his eyes on the road, his hands clutching Roscoe's steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. Scott's words echoed through his mind. Basically saying that that they - he - didn't need him. Because he murdered Donovan. So what if it was in self-defense? Why didn't Scott understand that Donovan was threatening to kill his dad and was trying to kill him too? The wrench lay in the passenger seat beside the human and Stiles turned his head to glance down at it.

_Say you believe me.  
_  
Smoke began to pour out of the engine, blocking his view of the road. He straightened, peering past the windshield.

"No," he pleaded. Roscoe was fine - he was - Coughs began to rack his chest, smoke filling the inside of the Jeep and Stiles covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve. He slowed the Jeep, pulling to the side while still coughing vigorously. Stiles stumbled out of the Jeep, but not after he slammed the driver door angrily with a bang. Stiles went toward the back and received a black toolbox. Fuming, he dropped the toolbox without so much as a look toward it while he went to open the hood. He grabbed the toolbox from the ground opening it, realizing that one of the four wrenches inside was missing.

He froze. Donovan. The wrench Scott said he'd used to kill Donovan. The one that started this whole -

A scream of rage bellowed from deep within him as he lifted the toolbox, turned and threw it as far as he could away from him. It clattered, disappearing into the shadows while Roscoe's hood slammed shut. Stiles grabbed the wrench from the seat, beginning to throw it after the toolbox before something stopped him. He paused, shifting on his feet as he turned to look at Roscoe.

If it wasn't for Roscoe breaking down that night . . .

If he'd just hadn't stayed to fix his beloved Jeep . . .

Stiles let the wrench fly, seeing it break the windshield, watching as it clattered and fell on top of the hood. Breathing heavily, Stiles said nothing as he sat next to his beloved Jeep, issuing an apology in his mind and wishing Theo Raeken eternal damnation for getting him into this mess in the first place.

Liam watched as Melissa maneuvered around the Clinic, grabbing various items. Scott placed a box on the counter. Hayden laid on the metal slab, a brown blanket Liam had tucked her into lying over her shivering body. She was feverish, pale, and still weak from the mercury attacking her body, and Liam didn't like it one bit. Scott had called his mother over to the Clinic and since she was a nurse and had knowledge of the supernatural, the True Alpha thought she could help.

"Okay What's that?" Liam asked, noticing Melissa carrying something transparent in her hand.

"It's called chelation therapy," she replied. "It removes heavy metals from the blood. But, the problem is, is that can injure the kidneys and Hayden only has one to begin with . . ."

Liam watched as Melissa gently swabbed Hayden's hand with an alcohol wipe before she began to insert a needle in. Hayden immediately groaned in pain and Liam grabbed Melissa's wrist to prevent her from doing any harm to her.

"Hey, you're hurting her," Liam growled.

Melissa stared at him warily while she spoke, maintaining eye contact. "And you're hurting me."

Scott shot him a look and Liam slowly realized what he had done. "Sorry."

"Hey, guys. Remember, we're here to save a life," Theo told them, glancing at both werewolves. "Not kill each other."

"It's the full moon," Scott explained, whether to Liam or to his mother or to all of them, it wasn't clear. "We can feel it even during the day."

"And it's a Supermoon," Theo added helpfully.

Melissa retrieved the IV drip bag from Hayden's slab and hooked it up to a pole as she asked the question that was on her mind. "What is that supposed to make you guys, like super strong? Super aggressive?"

Scott exhaled. "Both."

Scott and Theo went to sit in the chairs in Deaton's waiting room while Liam stayed behind with Hayden. His werewolf hearing increased while he held her hand, watching her eyes dart frantically against her closed eyelids.

"You know we're going to need help with him," Theo was saying.

"He'll be all right." Scott sounded convinced at this.

"He's sixteen and in love," Theo countered. "First love. You remember what that's like?"

Scott was silent. Finally, he spoke, a hint of sadness etched in his voice. Liam knew that he was thinking about Allison. "Yeah, trust me, I remember."

"All those emotions mixed with the Supermoon. Tonight isn't going to be good."

Another heavy exhale. "I know."

"We need help," Theo continued, "and I don't mean restraints or chains. I mean, Malia, Stiles, Lydia. You need your pack, Scott."

"I'm not so sure I have one anymore."

Liam let those eight words sink in. Suddenly, he was mad. After all that had been said and done, Scott didn't trust the pack. He wasn't willing to help anyone or even listen to them. He wasn't trusting Kira. He didn't choose to listen to Stiles' side of the story about murdering Donovan - or even why he had done it, even it had been it self-defense - and God knows what else Scott had done to Lydia and Malia. And now, Scott was deliberately choosing not to save Hayden with his bite. History was going to repeat itself and Liam wondered why Scott couldn't see that.

"Let me talk to them," Theo spoke, rising from his seat. "Let me see what I can do. Okay?"

"Theo. Thank you."

And with Theo's exit, Liam already had a plan formulating in his head as he promised Hayden this determinedly.

The jail was the last part Lydia wanted to be, but in order to help Parrish, it was what needed to be done. After his latest scenario with him stealing the recent Chimera from the McCalls' kitchen and attacking the police deputies in charge of being on the lookout, Lydia was determined to find out what Parrish was once and for all. They had alternated between Parrish being a Phoenix or a Salamander because of his resistance to fire. But none described why he kept having blackouts and continued to deliver the deceased Chimeras to the Nemeton.

"Go home, Lydia," Parrish repeated from his place behind the bars. "Stilinski isn't telling anyone where he put the bodies, and I'm pretty sure I'm not psychic."

"But you're drawn to death," she mused aloud. "Just like me."

Parrish turned his head to look at her. "Does that make me a kind of Banshee?"

"You find bodies," she reminded him.

"I find Chimeras," he started cockily.

"Dead Chimeras," she corrected immediately.

"So, we're both harbingers of death," Parrish said, sighing. "I should probably add that to my resume."

"Hmm. It's on my college applications," she replied as a lame joke. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before pulling it away. "Don't worry. We'll find out what you are and we'll learn to control it. Stiles and I will make sure of it. I promise."

Liam watched Scott sleeping peacefully in the chair. His eyes glowed golden and his claws sunk into his palms. Shaking periodically with rage, listening to Hayden struggle to breathe, fitfully, Liam knew what he was going to do. If Scott wasn't going to listen to them, then fine.

Liam would _make_ him listen.

**_oOo_**

Malia was a bit surprised to get a call from Stiles this early. The were-coyote listened to him explain that Roscoe wasn't working properly anymore and it had to be towed away. By the time she had arrived, the tow truck was already pulling away with Roscoe behind him. Malia knew that Stiles loved the Jeep but could not understand why he would stay with it, even when it was so clearly obvious that it needed repairs. Lots and lots of repairs. Stiles' eyes lingered at the now empty space Roscoe had vacated and a heartbroken look streaked through his eyes. He briefly met Malia's eyes before he got into the passenger seat.

There was silence in the car before Malia finally decided on a topic. "Can they fix it?" she asked curiously.

"There's not enough duct tape in the world to fix that thing."

"Maybe you should try something other than duct tape," she offered innocently.

"It's got a bad alternator, you know, needs all new belts, transmission's going . . . " A sigh escaped him. "The brake pads are basically metal on metal."

"How come you let it get so bad?"

"There's been a few distractions, if you haven't noticed."

"I notice," she said. "More than you think I do."

She was tired of everyone treating her like she was still eight years old. Sure, she was still adjusting and she still had no clue how she'd barely managed to skittle into senior year, but she was still trying her best.

"Uh, I didn't mean it like that."

"Am I taking you home?" Malia snapped, changing the topic, regretting ever asking about the stupid Jeep.

"No. Sheriff's station. I gotta talk to my dad."

"Does it help knowing?" Parrish suddenly asked from his place on the cot. "Knowing what you are?"

Lydia thought about it. Carefully, she chose her next words. "It . . . doesn't scare me as much. That I know." She was still learning more about her powers. She was grateful for that even if they seemed useless. They were a part of her now, whether she wanted it or not. Confused, she looked at Parrish, wondering why he had asked that. "Do I scare you?"

"Once."

"Really?" Lydia was even more confused.

"It was the night I found that werewolf, the one with the talons," Parrish began. "I thought I was going to die that night."

"How come?"

"Because I saw you. I saw the Banshee. But I guess it was just a dream or a hallucination . . ."

Parrish trailed off as Lydia watched from behind bars. She stood up, clearly remembering that she had been nowhere near him that night. Unless she had another blackout. "What was I doing?" she asked cautiously.

"Trying to keep me alive."

"Well, sorry, but the Banshee was mostly trying to stay out the rain. That was the night of the storm, remember?" Lydia watched his expression, hoping to jog his memory. "The Wild Hunt."

"The what?"

"Oh, it's something Kira was telling me," she told the former deputy. "A myth about thunderstorms, Ghost Riders in the sky and black dogs -"

She trailed off, because a thought occurred to her. Could it be? Could the answer have been under their noses the entire time?

"What is it?"

"I need to check on something. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere," she said, turning to walk out before realizing what she said. She groaned in annoyance. "Oh! You know what I mean."

Light drifted through the windows of the Clinic as Liam stayed awake the entire night. He didn't sleep, for the fear that Hayden would pass quietly into the night without him knowing it. Scott was still asleep and Melissa had kept watch, looking and taking care of Hayden.

His hand brushed her own fragile hand, his thumb continuously making circles to comfort her. Hayden didn't speak, but Liam could still tell that she was in pain.

"It's not working, is it?" he finally asked, not daring to look Melissa in the eye as he waited for her answer, watching Hayden's face.

"She should be showing signs of improvement," Melissa replied. The young Chimera girl hand pulled away from his and Hayden offered it to Melissa for comfort.

"Hayden?" Melissa asked gently, brushing her hair in a motherly way.

Hayden's lips parted as she made an effort to speak, gasping as she tried her best to get her words out with difficulty. "Call Val . . .My sister Valerie."

Scott came into the room, tugging his jacket on while Melissa turned to Liam, wondering who Valerie was. "She's a deputy."

"I think I might know where she is. Theo just texted me about the high school. He said there's cops everywhere," Scott spoke. "Might be another Chimera."

Hayden turned to look at the True Alpha. "Um, my sister," she mumbled with difficulty. "I don't want to die without my sister."

"I'll get her," Scott promised.

Scott was about to leave when Liam spoke up. He remembered that Valerie didn't know anything about the Supernatural or the Chimeras, or even the fact that her sister was one. "Uh, wait," he began. "What are you going to tell her?"

"If I have to, I'll tell her everything."

Malia had finally arrived at the Police Station, parking in an empty space. She waited for Stiles to go on in. She could still smell the faint smell of blood on him, the smell of death reaping her nostrils. "You want me to go in with you?" she questioned.

"No, it's okay," Stiles said. "It's probably going to take a while." She stared out the window, her mind searching for an opening, an opening that she knew and that she didn't have the heart to ask him about it.

He was about to get out of the car, when she blurted it out, "Are you going to tell him about Donovan?"

She heard his breath freeze as he turned to look at her in disbelief and she saw a mixture of betrayal crossing over his features. The door clicked shut as he turned back to his ex-girlfriend.

"You knew?"

Malia hesitated. "I guessed. I saw the bite on your shoulder while you were sleeping. It didn't matter to me. That's why I never said anything."

She watched as he self-consciously raised his arm and touched the strange mark on the back of his shoulder.

"It matters to me," Stiles retorted. They stared at each other and Malia wondered how she had let it get this far. She didn't deserve to be called a friend, because she realized she had left him to suffer in silence. And she realized if they'd had still been together, this would've considered a break-up, based on the lack of communication. Their relationship was built on lust and sex. The were-coyote watched as Stiles got out of the car and left, disappearing into the Police Station.

Malia did the only thing she knew how to do: she ran.

**_oOo_**

Lydia used her all-access card to enter the library. She was grateful it was quiet and that nobody was there. She had scavenged the bookshelves until she had found the book she wanted. The book was clad in leather, with some old faded lettering on top, but she knew what it said. The book was placed in front of her as she settled it down on a table, flipping through the page, paintings and old legends whisking past her emerald eyes. The page she wanted finally reached her and she began to read aloud, Kira's voice of the Wild Hunt reaching her ears.

"'Woden's Hunt,' also known as the 'Wild Ride' or 'Wild Hunt'," she began, eyes following along with the black gothic font underneath her fingers, a painting of several figures on horses on the accompanying page next to it. "'A myth of devilish riders in the sky accompanied by black dogs, spectral beasts whose eyes glowed with fire, a Bearer of Death and Guardian of the Supernatural, the black dog is also known by its more common name, the Hellhound.'"

This was it. The answer she and Parrish had been looking for all along from the past six months. She had to go and tell Parrish, that she finally knew what he was.

Lydia shut the book and her body froze, her eyes staring blankly as she entered her Banshee trance. She heard the sounds of someone groaning in pain, a loud yell, and several loud growls of beasts.

"You know what's coming," a voice said from behind. Lydia gasped, drawing herself out from the trance as she turned to face the newcomer. It was Theo.

"Don't you?" he continued.

"Someone's going to die here," she told him. They had to go and warn Scott. The Dread Doctors had something up their sleeve that was going to cost somebody their life and she prayed to God that it wasn't going to be another one of her friends. She had to warn them. She couldn't let it be another repeat of Allison.

"You're right," Theo started. "But I can't let you tell anyone."

"Why?" Lydia was confused. What was Theo doing?

"Because I want you, Lydia. I want all of you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't worry. I'll give you some time to think about it."

Dumbfounded, she met Theo's eyes as she tried to figure out what the werewolf was talking about. Suddenly, his arm swung up and he backhanded her so hard, she fell to the ground, drifting into unconsciousness.

The last thing she heard was Stiles screaming in agony.

Liam watched as Melissa pulled the syringe away from Hayden's wrist. She exchanged worried looks with Liam as she gently tugged Hayden's sleeve up, revealing strange discolored spots.

"It's on her neck too," Liam told her, as he moved her dark brown curly hair aside. "She's getting worse, isn't she?"

Hayden was dying and Scott still hadn't come back.

Where the hell was he?! It shouldn't be taking this long. Unless Scott ran into a problem and couldn't convince Valerie. But still, even if Valerie didn't believe in the supernatural, she would still come when her sister was dying, wouldn't she?

"Yeah. Which is why we're taking her to the hospital."

"How's that going to help?" He frowned as Melissa gathered several things. The doctors at Beacon Memorial didn't know how to cure the supernatural and the only person that did was away on a mission to find out more about the Dread Doctors.

"We're in an animal clinic and I need equipment designed for humans. I said that we're going to take her to the hospital. I didn't say we're going through the front door."

**_oOo_**

Malia was crouched down in the den she'd been living in for the last eight years of her life, gently picking up the doll she'd been playing with in the backseat as her adoptive mother drove. The Desert Wolf was standing in front of them, headlights blocking the view and gunshots were ringing out, one hit the windshield and all chaos broke loose. Her mother lost control of the car and -

She sniffed, a new smell entering her nose. She immediately went on defense mode, ready to defend her territory, which was once her home, because just then, a wolf trotted into view. She was ready to pounce when the wolf began to Shift, turning into a very familiar human boy.

A very toned muscular, very _naked_ boy.

Theo.

"How did you do that?"

"Do you want to learn?" asked Theo, not moving from his spot at the entrance of Malia's coyote den. "I can show you."

Malia tried hard to not let her attraction to Theo get in the way. "You're showing me plenty right now."

"I've got nothing to hide," Theo said, making his way toward her, stepping in the light.

"And I do?"

"Did you tell Scott you're planning to kill your mother?" Malia's heart dropped and her fists clenched. How did he know about that? "Don't worry, I'm not judging. I want to help you."

"Why?"

"Because I know Scott won't," he countered. "I'm trying to help all of you. If Scott can't do it, then someone else needs to take the lead. You know they're moving Hayden to the hospital, right?" She shook her head in reply as he continued, "But Hayden's still a Chimera, and there's two more we haven't found yet, and they're still dangerous. They need help. They need you."

"So what do we do?" she asked.

"We find the last Chimeras," Theo said. "And we help them. And I think I know where we can find one."

Stiles was anxiously waiting for his father to return when lights began to flash and sirens began wailing. Confused, he stepped out of the Sheriff's office, watching as the other police deputies chattered indistinctly in confusion also.

"Hey, what's going on? Somebody hit the fire alarm?" a man called out.

Then the human smelled smoke and he rose out of his seat to find Parrish walking from a corridor he knew well and realized that Parrish had broken himself out of jail and was seemingly in another trance. The police deputies drew their guns on an advancing Parrish and Stiles rushed out to keep them from shooting.

"What the hell?"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Stiles shouted, raising his arms. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! Get back! Stay out of his way."

Parrish ignored them and continued making his way out the Police Station, clothes simmering with Stiles right behind his heels.

Malia had been tricked. She was angry that she had been led astray in this situation and now she was paying for it. She transformed, letting out a angry scream-turned-roar as she pounded on the metal door with all her strength, desperate for a way out.

Melissa, Liam, and Hayden rode up the elevator to the fourth floor, having stolen an wheelchair which Melissa wasn't too fond of, but it was necessary. Hayden began groaning in pain and they watched as black fluid traveled into the IV bag.

"What's happening?" he whispered softly.

Melissa gave him a look. "I'm not sure. But it's definitely not good."

Hayden, seemingly realizing that Liam was still there, reached up and offered him her hand and he took it, trying his best to comfort her with his touch.

"My sister . . ." Liam immediately looked toward Melissa for an answer because what was he going to say? That Scott went out and still hadn't come back? That he left all of them to deal with their own problems? That he wouldn't grow another backbone and help save Hayden's life? That he was a selfish son of a bitch?

"Scott's out looking for her right now," Melissa promised the Hispanic girl, bending down to her eye level. Technically, she wasn't lying but Scott still hadn't texted or called. "He's going to bring her here as soon as he can, all right?"

Hayden, upon hearing this, let her eyelids flutter halfway shut, her hand growing limp in Liam's as he clenched his jaw in anger at Scott's betrayal, to him, to Stiles, to Kira, and the rest of the Pack.

Meanwhile at the school, Scott was looking at the damage bestowed on the hallway, the Beacon Hills High School sign cracked in two. The vault had not been revealed so that was good, but Valerie was nowhere to be found nor any other cops. His phone buzzed and he opened the text message from Lydia, which simply read "Library."

So he made his way there, not seeing anybody there. Perhaps Lydia was on the second floor, out of sight where he couldn't see her.

"Hey, Lydia?" he called out. His smartphone vibrated again and he saw a long string of texts he didn't realized he had from Liam.

**Call me**

**She's getting worse! Call!**

**Where r u?**

**Call me now!**

**CALL ME!**

Scott sighed, then pulled up Lydia's number to call her. Nearby, he heard vibrating and looked around before realizing it came from a bookshelf. He walked over to it, seeing Lydia's phone tucked between two books as he came to a conclusion that something was wrong, that Lydia was in danger and that there was mountain ash surrounding him -

Eyes widening, Scott stepped backward as he realized that he was surrounded by mountain ash and turned his head to see Theo completing the circle to trap him in. A part of him didn't want to believe it.

"That's not possible," he declared. A werewolf couldn't even touch it let alone even be near it. It would kill them.

"You're right," Theo smirked devilishly. "A werewolf shouldn't even be able to touch mountain ash."

Suddenly, it all fell into place. "You're a Chimera."

"I'm the first Chimera," Theo corrected. "It's the coyote part you don't notice. It's why Malia trusted me first, even though she probably didn't know it. You found the perfect word though, Scott. Because a Chimera isn't just a monster with different parts. It can also mean something impossible to achieve. An unrealizable dream."

Scott slowly walked toward Theo, hoping not to provoke him any further. Stiles was right. He cursed silently to himself, regretting not ever listening to his best friend. "And they realized you?"

"They came close with me," sneered Theo, taking several steps backwards. Scott tensed slowly, knowing that if Theo stepped out, he would be trapped in the circle for God knows how long. "But we can't all be perfect. We can't all be True Alphas."

Scott made a run for, getting ready to attack Theo, but the Chimera moved out of his way, stepping back past the mountain ash and there was a feeling of hitting a wall, a flash of light and Scott was sailing backward, skidding on the floor. He groaned in pain.

"Damn. I felt that," Theo smirked. He turned and clicked the cellphone jammer nearby on. "No calls, Scott. No Stiles, no Malia, no Lydia. You're just going to have to wait here alone for what happens next."

"What do you mean?" Scott breathed, staggering to his feet. "What's next?"

Theo smiled. "The Supermoon."

**_oOo_**

Night had fallen. Scott raised his hands and pushed with all his might, but his strength was sapping and he couldn't understand why. He tried to visualize the time he broke through Jennifer's barrier but nothing was happening.

Huffing, he hissed through his teeth in frustration, "Come on. You've done this before. You can do it again."

Gasping, he felt his breaths shortening and reached for his inhaler. He gave a huge inhale then tucked it into his pocket. Finally, with a muster of courage, he charged at the circle as he got rebounded off and sent crashing to the floor again. Groaning and panting, he raised his head to see a door. Opening it, he saw a ladder and began to climb. Meanwhile, lurking in the shadows, a transformed Liam slunk out and followed the True Alpha to the roof, blind rage filling him.

As Malia guessed it, she was trapped on an abandoned building. The smell of blood had reached her nose as soon as she calmed down and she stiffened.

Well, Theo was right, there was a Chimera here.

Hesitating, she followed the blood bags and blood trails to a single source. She stopped when she saw a figure behind a sheer curtain used for construction, hearing and seeing the sounds of the boy Chimera sucking and slurping the blood greedily. The Chimera turned his head, his long nails pushing the curtain aside, still slurping the blood bag he held into his hand. He stood, dropping the blood bag and he began to storm toward Malia, a low growl emitting from his throat. Malia transformed, eyes glowing blue, claws flicking from her fingers as she gave a loud roar in return . . .

Panting, Scott stumbled onto the roof, finally managing to open the door. Dark clouds and lightning rolled and flashed around him ominously and he didn't like it one bit. He reminded him so much of the night Jennifer had the lunar eclipse. He headed toward the edge of the roof and his arm streaked with pain as the mountain ash repelled it. Angry, he wondered why he was so useless as he repeatedly hit the invisible wall with his fist.

Wheezes escaped him, and he fumbled desperately for the inhaler tucked into his pocket. He grasped it, shaking it as he collapsed to the ground, trying to get a whiff of fresh air. He sucked it in, pain racking the inside of his chest as he struggled to breathe. Why wasn't it working?

He screamed angrily as the canister crushed under the weight of his hand, purple mist emitting through the air.

He froze as he realized what it was. What was in the inhaler Theo had given him, what he had been poisoning him with . . . How could've he have been such a fool? "Wolfsbane," he whispered. He stumbled to his feet, determined to get to Theo and make him pay. He turned and saw Liam.

The young Beta looked different, his wolf-form looking more ghoulish and somewhat eerily more Deucalion-like. Perhaps that was because of the influence of the Supermoon.

"Theo let you in," Scott noted.

"Did you lie to me?" Liam growled, pacing back and forth in a predatory way.

"I've never lied to you," Scott insisted.

"But you won't save her."

"I can't save her," Scott remarked, trying to snap some sense into his youngest Beta. "At least, not with a bite. If you'd just think about that for a second, Liam, you would know that I'm right."

"I am thinking!" Liam shouted back. "I'm thinking about alternatives."

Scott raised his arm, trying to reason with Liam. He realized what this was about. Liam was so angry about Scott not saving Hayden, that he was taking his anger out on the True Alpha. "Liam, it's the Supermoon," he replied softly. "It's feeding your anger. It's making you more aggressive -"

"It's making me stronger!" Liam retorted harshly, baring his fangs. He took a step forward as thunder rumbled around him. "You're gonna keep your promise. Even if it kills you!"

Liam roared loudly and charged toward him. He threw several punches, jerking up his knee connecting with Scott's chest. Scott tried to block his fists, pushing Liam away from him as he held Liam down with one hand on the back of his Beta's neck.

"Hey, Liam, stop," Scott grunted as Liam breathed heavily. "You're not going to save her by killing me."

Liam growled, the pull of the Supermoon surging through him, power and strength flowing through his veins. He was stronger than Scott McCall. He would save Hayden, something that Scott was too much of a pussy to do. A growl ripped through his mouth. He would be a better Alpha than Scott ever would be. His elbow thrusted up harshly, throwing Scott off balance. A punch landed on him, then another, and another. Then Liam slammed Scott back onto the roof, leaping on top of him, throwing more punches. Scott growled and pushed Liam off, but not before Liam slammed into him, knocking them both off their feet, crashing and breaking through the skylight of the library.

It was official. Malia hated Chimeras. First the Dread Doctors, then the Chimeras, then the news of Theo somehow knowing that she wanted to kill the Desert Wolf, her own mother. Ugh.

The blood-sucking Chimera threw the first swipe, Malia narrowly jumping back to avoid the sharp bone protruding from the Chimera's hand. Malia growled in return as she slammed the Chimera back against the wall, but not before he got the upper hand and pushed her onto the floor. Quickly, Malia scrambled to her feet, letting out another growl. She charged, throwing her arm out, anticipating the attack as the Chimera was knocked to the ground.

The Chimera groaned and as Malia bent to pick him up, he rose, slamming her back against the wall. The boy managed to connect a few more punches as Malia tried to defend herself and was about to deliver another when he fell to the floor, convulsing, sparks emitting from the darts that were just shot into him. Malia frowned, but then saw Braeden standing at the end of the hallway, a shotgun held in her hands as she cocked it, ready to fire another round. The Chimera pulled out the tasered darts, then turned, scrambling to his feet and running away.

"What the hell was that?" Braeden asked. "Nevermind, we need to go."

Malia followed Braeden out, stopping when the mercenary turned to face her. "I don't know what's going on around here, but I'm guessing things are bad again."

"Very," the Were-coyote breathed out.

"Then this is going to sound worse," the dark-skinned woman continued."'Cause your plan -"

"She knows," Malia finished. She'd known it would happen sooner or later.

"Yeah. And she's coming. The Desert Wolf knows you're alive," said Braeden firmly. "And she's coming back to Beacon Hills."

Stiles followed Parrish to the Beacon Hills Auto Impound, watching as Parrish opened the door of a white van, loading another dead Chimera in it, even catching a glimpse of a boy wearing a white shirt drenched in black and silver blood. Parrish got into the driver's seat, starting the engine as Stiles watch the man drive away. He pulled out his cellphone, realizing that he wasn't getting an answer and that Scott wasn't picking up.

"Come on, come on . . ."

He turned his head, seeing Theo's truck pulling up and went to meet him.

"Sorry," the other boy apologized as he climbed out of the car. "I got here as fast as I could -"

"We gotta go," Stiles interrupted, moving to climb into the truck. "Now. Parrish has got the bodies."

"Okay, wait up Stiles, wait."

But the human was on a roll. "Parrish is out and he's got the bodies. We've got to find Scott. And we've got to tell him."

"Stiles!" Theo shouted, getting his attention. Stiles stopped in frustration, slamming the door close and turned to face him. "I don't think Scott wants to talk to you right now."

"Yeah, thanks, I'm aware of that," Stiles mumbled bitterly. "It doesn't matter. He needs to know about this."

"Stiles . . . " Theo began. Stiles frowned, wondering what Theo wanted him to know so urgently. With horror, he watched as the blond pulled out his student I.D. card from his jacket. The one he'd thrown away. How did he get it? "Scott doesn't want to talk to you. But I think your dad does. Your dad was looking for you, Stiles. He found me instead."

"Where is he?" Stiles mustered out, unable to fathom the fact that Theo somehow had his card and at the mention of his dad. His blood sent a chill through his bones.

"I covered for you," Theo went on, walking around as Stiles followed closely behind. "This was taken care of. If Melissa didn't find it at the hospital - guess even the son of a cop can make mistakes."

"Did you hurt him?" Stiles asked, because if he did something to his dad . . .

Thro finally turned, meeting his eyes. "I never lied about why I came to Beacon Hills," he said. "I'm here for a pack. I came for the Were-coyote. The one whose first instinct is to kill. I came for the Banshee, the girl surrounded by death. I came for the dark Kitsune, the Beta with anger issues - I came for Void Stiles. That's the pack I want. Unfortunately, it doesn't include Scott. Your heartbeat's rising, Stiles. It's not because you're afraid. Nogitsune is gone, but you've still got more blood on your hands than any of us."

"I'm about to get more," Stiles growled out, seething inside. Because if Theo Raeken thought he could just waltz in here and take control of his friends and kill Scott, oh, he was so wrong.

"I'll tell you where your dad is," Theo started, placing his I.D. on top of the hood of his truck. "If you promise not to help Scott."

Without thinking, Stiles raised his arm, curling his hand into a fist as he punched Theo-Motherfucking-Raeken in the face. Theo doubled over, laughing as he straightened in excitement and pleasure. "There he is! That's Void Stiles. It felt good, didn't it?"

Oh, it did.

Stiles threw another punch, hitting Theo in the face as hard as he could, with all the strength he could muster, the blood in his veins calling to him, to whisper, to just release a tiny speck of power on him . . .

Unleash his fury on the boy who wanted Scott and the others, but only Stiles himself could have Scott all to himself . . .

Theo groaned in pain as he crashed to the ground below him, spitting out blood. "We won't tell Scott," continued the werewolf devilishly, still trying to corrupt Stiles to join his side. "'Cause you can't lose your best friend, right? Even though we both know, you never needed him."

Stiles grunted angrily, leaping on top of him, gripping Theo's jacket as Theo sneered, "You hate me now, but you'll get it eventually. This is the hard part. 'Cause you can't help Scott and save your dad's life. You've still got time, Stiles. You've still got time."

**_oOo_**

Their bodies broke through glass, hitting the floor. But Liam grabbed Scott, punching him in the face as hard as he could. Rage filled him, growling as Scott stumbled back against the wall. Liam tossed Scott over the desk, then grabbed the nearest chair, swinging it at Scott, which shattered against the True Alpha's back. Scott groaned in pain, then Liam tightened his hands on his head, slamming it repeatedly against the table underneath Scott.

Snarling ripped through Liam's throat as Scott tried to get the werewolf off, hands reaching to tug him off, but Liam sent him flying over another crawled as Liam cocked his head as he leaped onto the table, watching as Scott staggered onto his feet, only to be sent stumbling back after Scott managed to successfully land a kick on Liam's chest. Scott made his way to the top of the stairs as he shouted desperately, "Don't do this, Liam!"

Liam only snarled back angrily in response.

"I can't let you kill me."

Scott turned to the Supermoon behind him, letting the pull transform him. He turned to face his Beta, eyes glowing crimson. A guttural sound poured from Liam's mouth as he roared and Scott roared back in reply.

Liam charged at him, receiving a punch to the face as he met Scott at the top of the stairs. Blows were exchanged and Scott kicked Liam's back, sending him crashing to the floor, but he caught himself, catching Scott off balance as he whirled, thrusting him back harshly against the window. They gripped arms, trying to push the other back and Scott gained the upper hand, pushing Liam off of him as Liam tumbled and rolled down the stairs. The young werewolf groaned in pain, then shot to his feet as he saw Scott advancing on him, swinging the nearest chair while Scott jumped high in the air to avoid it.

Panting, Scott ran around Liam, jumping on top of a table, exerting his strength to jump to the second floor of the Beacon Hills Library. He turned, seeing Liam walk to the stairs.

"He's using you, Liam," Scott called out, hoping to snap his youngest Beta to reality. He wanted the others to help him right now. He could feel weakness sapping his bones due to the mountain ash in his system. He wished that Derek wasn't in Mexico. He wished that Isaac and Cora hadn't gone to London to get Jackson. Truth was, they were going to need all the help he could get. Liam stormed up the stairs as he took his time, arching, rolling his head back against his shoulders as he glared at Scott. "He wants you to be the Alpha because he can't take the power from me. Only you can. But once you do, he'll take it from you. That's why he wants you to kill me -"

"That's what you don't get, Scott," Liam growled out heavily, his fangs feeling like he had a mouthful of glass scraping his tongue. Blood streaked and poured out of the corner of his mouth as he spoke. It was Scott's fault that Hayden was dying. Scott was too wrapped up into himself to even consider even giving his girlfriend the bite. And when Liam became the Alpha, he would save her, just like Theo promised. "I want to kill you. I want to!"

Liam growled and the battle continued and raged on. He kept swiping and swiping and someone was yelling . . . His name . . .

_LIAM!  
_  
Blood splattered everywhere . . .

_LIAM!  
_  
But he had to-

"Liam! Liam!" Suddenly, Mason was behind him and he froze as realization hit him. What the hell was he doing? He -

"Liam, what are you doing?" Mason asked him fearfully as he looked at his best friend.

Liam looked at his bloody claws, horror filling him, panting harshly. Hayden . . . He needed to get to Hayden. "Hayden."

"She's gone," Mason said softly. "Hayden died a few minutes ago. She's gone."

He ran. That was all he could do. He ran as fast as he could, as far as his legs could take him to the clinic where Hayden was.

She was lying on the cold slab, alone in the dark, Melissa nowhere to be found. Her body was stiff and lifeless, her eyes shut, a single tear of mercury slipping out from underneath her eyelid. Her skin was so pale, so pale and cold when Liam approached her and carefully took her in his arms. He was so exhausted and tired but strength surged through him as he lifted her body and slid down to meet the floor. He held her in his arms, thinking about what he had done. He should have been there for her. He should have been _here_ with her, in her final moments. But he wasn't. He was too busy thinking about saving her and his own reckless, his anger got in the way.

And now she was dead.

Hayden was dead.

He had paid for it.

This was his consequence.

Sobs racked through his chest as he cried and held her. History had repeated itself. First Paige, then Allison, and now Hayden.

_I'm in the arms of my first love._

_I'm so sorry, _he thought over and over. _Hayden, I'm so, so sorry. Hayden . . ._

He couldn't save her. He never was going to. The world was never going to allow him to. If he _had_ succeeded, he probably would've killed Scott for nothing because she'd already be dead by the time he had arrived.

He heard footsteps. How long had he been here? Had it been hours, cradling Hayden in his arms, wishing for someway to bring her back to life? How long had it been?

He saw Parrish in front of him, soot covering his upper and lower body, eyes glowing reddish-orange. Liam knew what Parrish is here for and he doesn't want it to be true. But he was and Parrish waited patiently as he mourned. Finally, with hesitation, he let her go and Parrish gently picked Hayden and carried her out the door. Liam broke down, letting himself grieve, tucking his head in his arms.

_She's gone. She's gone. She's-_

_This is all my fault._

_All my fault. All my . . . _

_Fault._

_All my fault . . ._


End file.
